What is the difference between a record and a document?

Every record is a document, but not every document is a record. The two words are often used interchangeably, yet they describe different things — and the distinction drives how information must be managed.

What is a document?

A document is any piece of recorded information, regardless of its value or purpose. A draft memo, a working spreadsheet, a meeting agenda, a personal note, a duplicate copy — all are documents. Documents are created constantly, and most are transient. They can be edited freely, revised, or simply deleted when no longer useful. The defining trait of a document is its content, not its significance.

What is a record?

A record is information — in any format — that an organization creates or receives in the course of business and keeps as evidence of an activity, decision, transaction, or obligation. Internationally recognized guidance describes records as information held as proof of, and as a byproduct of, business activity. The defining trait of a record is not its content but its function: it documents something the organization must be able to account for.

Because a record serves as evidence, it carries obligations that an ordinary document does not:

• Retention — it must be kept for a defined period under a records (retention) schedule.
• Integrity — it must be protected from unauthorized alteration or deletion so it remains trustworthy.
• Disposition — when its retention period ends, it is destroyed or transferred to an archive under documented authority, not casually deleted.

How a document becomes a record

The shift happens the moment a document begins to document something of consequence. A draft contract is a document; the signed, executed contract is a record. An informal chat may be a document; the same exchange approving a payment may be a record. Many organizations formalize this through a step called declaring a record, which locks the content and brings it under retention control.

Why the distinction matters

Treating everything as a record is wasteful and risky; treating nothing as a record leaves you unable to prove what was done. Sound practice means identifying which documents qualify as records and managing those with the right controls.

For more foundational concepts, see the fundamentals topic hub.

A simple way to remember it: a document captures information; a record preserves evidence — and evidence must be kept, protected, and disposed of responsibly.