Why can't I just leave records management to the agency records officer since it's their job, not mine?

It is a fair question, and the short answer is that records management is a shared responsibility. The agency records officer leads the program, but the law generally places recordkeeping obligations on the agency as a whole, which means every employee who creates or receives records has a role to play.

What the records officer actually does

The records officer is the program’s architect and coordinator. Typical duties include:

• Developing records schedules and policies and working with the National Archives on disposition authorities.
• Training staff and providing guidance on what to keep and for how long.
• Overseeing transfers, destruction, and the overall lifecycle of agency records.

What the records officer generally cannot do is sit at your desk and decide, in the moment, whether the email you just sent or the document you just drafted is a record. That judgment happens where the work happens.

Why it still falls to you

Federal records law treats the creation and maintenance of adequate documentation as an agency obligation, and agencies meet it through the everyday actions of their staff. A few practical reasons this lands on individual employees:

• You are closest to the work, so you are the one who knows whether a message, file, or decision documents official business.
• Records are created continuously, in email, chat, shared drives, and systems, far faster than any single office can monitor.
• Failing to capture or improperly destroying records can expose the agency to legal, FOIA, and oversight consequences, regardless of who “owns” the program.

In practice, the records officer sets the rules and the tools; you apply them to the material you generate. When everyone treats recordkeeping as part of their job, the records officer’s program can actually function. When it is left entirely to one office, records slip through the cracks before that office ever sees them.

The bottom line

Think of it as a partnership. The records officer carries the program-level responsibility and the specialized expertise; you carry the day-to-day responsibility for the records your work produces. Both are required for the agency to meet its legal duties.

For a broader overview of related obligations, see the federal records topic hub.