Is it worth digitizing records that are close to the end of their retention period?

Digitization is an investment, and like any investment it should be weighed against the time the asset will still be in service. When records are near the end of their retention period, that remaining service life is short — so the question is really whether the benefits can be realized before the records are eligible for disposition.

The Case Against Digitizing

For many records close to disposition, scanning is hard to justify:

• Limited payback window. Conversion costs (preparation, scanning, quality control, indexing) are incurred up front, but the convenience and access benefits may last only weeks or months before the records can be destroyed.
• No change to the retention clock. Reformatting a record does not extend or restart its retention period. The disposition date is tied to the record’s content and event, not its format.
• Added cleanup work. A new digital copy becomes another instance you must track and dispose of on schedule, increasing — not reducing — the volume to manage.

When It Can Still Make Sense

Digitizing near-expiry records is sometimes worthwhile:

• Active or frequent use. If a record is still being accessed often, even short-term digital access can deliver real efficiency.
• Anticipated litigation, audit, or FOIA demand. A legal hold, investigation, or pending request can effectively suspend disposition and justify imaging for searchability.
• Permanent or long-term records mislabeled as expiring. Always confirm the true retention value first; a record you think is near disposition may actually be permanent or have a much longer schedule.
• Migration or system retirement. If a paper system is being decommissioned, capturing what remains may be cheaper than maintaining the legacy system.

A Practical Rule of Thumb

Verify the actual retention requirement before deciding — consult your approved records schedule, since federal agencies follow schedules such as NARA’s General Records Schedules. Then ask: will the digital copy be used enough, long enough, to repay the conversion effort? If yes, digitize to a recognized quality standard like FADGI so the result is fit for purpose. If the record is genuinely days or months from eligible disposition with no operational or legal driver, the most defensible choice is usually to leave it as-is and dispose of it on schedule.

For broader guidance on planning scanning projects, see the digitization and imaging hub.