CoSA Best Practices Recommendations
In 2025, the CoSA Advocacy Committee compiled a set of best practices related to the work of state government archives and records management programs. The initial set was approved by the Board of Directors in 2025. The CoSA Board and Advocacy Committees will continue to review and revise the language and resources connected to each statement. Questions or suggestions for additional best practices should be directed to info@statearchivists.org.
The Council of State Archivists (CoSA) provides leadership to strengthen and support state and territorial archives leaders and staff in their work to preserve and provide access to government records. With the understanding that every state is different and every state archives is faced with different opportunities and challenges, CoSA developed this guide to document current best practices in working with state and territorial government records.
Managing Active Records Created by Government
Records management is one of the basic responsibilities of every gubernatorial administration. Thorough recordkeeping following the best practices developed by state archives and records management agencies enhances services and improves operations while the governor is in office. It also signals that the administration supports open government, transparency, and accountability—concepts that have become synonymous with good government and practices to which every administration will undoubtedly wish to aspire. At the end of an administration, proper recordkeeping ensures the preservation of archival records that have enduring value. Gubernatorial archives are a rich source of information regarding specific programs, policies, issues, legal decisions, and procedures that affect the citizens of the state.
Key elements of a sound and sustainable records management program should include:
- comprehensive filing systems and records retention and disposition schedules,
- clear definitions of public and personal records, and
- electronic recordkeeping systems that incorporate records management requirements into their design.
If a records management program is already in place, it is important to determine whether the existing system meets the new administration’s needs or requires revision to reflect new initiatives or changing information systems.
Resources that inform development of sound records management programs include:
- Managing Electronic Records While Transitioning Out of Office (CoSA and NASS, 2025)
- First Steps in Managing Records (CoSA and NGA, 2018)
- Playbook for Governors on State and Territorial Government Records (CoSA and NASS, 2020).
Archival records are part of the records lifecycle. State archives that do not have records management responsibility have an obligation to work with the state’s records management agency to ensure that archival records are identified and appropriately transferred when their retention period dictates it. Similarly, the best practice for legislation and administrative rules is that the state archives has authority to approve records disposition authorizations to ensure that archival records are not inappropriately destroyed and are scheduled for transfer to archival custody on a regular basis. Agencies should have a legal responsibility to transfer archival records at the end of their active retention period.
The best practice for any records management program is that it applies to records in any form. Records are defined by their content and use, and not by their format. The definition of records should be codified in statute and should apply to all records created and maintained by government agencies.
A state archives that has legal responsibility for both records management and archival preservation should operate based on the lifecycle concept described above. More importantly, the best practice for an institution with a combined program is to maintain appropriate internal controls, policies, and practices to ensure that records management actions do not bias the archival program. Appropriate internal controls require that records management decisions are vetted and ultimately approved by an independent authority that is not involved in developing the retention and disposition decision, such as the state archivist or a records advisory board.
A strong state archives operates in relationship with one or more external groups that provide support, feedback, and advocacy in service to the agency’s mission. The external organization can be an advisory board, a State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB), and/or a private, nonprofit friends group. The relationship can be established in statute or in a memorandum of understanding. The advisory boards or friends organization can provide a valuable third-party voice on behalf of a broader stakeholder community.
Additional resources:
- Developing and Maintaining a Strong State Archives (CoSA, 2018)
State archives should comply with its state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Sunshine, or Open Records laws concerning its own records, including all records management records.
Where states have separate fee schedules for records requests, state archives should update their fee policies to reflect processes and charges for fulfillment versus typical records requests.
A state archives makes accessible government records through routine reference procedures. Therefore, not all requests for records from the state archives should be treated as a request for records under FOIA.
Government records deposited at a state archives should be assumed to be open to the public for use, unless an agency can provide compelling reasons to limit access.
Restrictions on records access should be based on federal and state statutes or regulations. There may be instances where discretionary access restrictions are applied (e.g., personally identifiable information (PII) or open investigations). In those cases, the access restriction should have a foundation in existing laws, including laws ensuring privacy, security, or impeding law enforcement activities.
State archives staff should have a solid and thorough understanding of federal and state statutes and regulations, and agency practices regarding the restriction of access to records.
Language reflecting that materials deposited with a state archives are open to the public should be clearly stated in transfer sheets, rules, and/or statutes.
Records should not be closed for longer than 10 years after the expected life of an individual (95 years). This includes records containing attorney-client privilege materials, executive privilege, mental health records, inmate records, educational, medical records, and court records.
State archives should also include access information in their finding aids to inform patrons on the procedures. For example, both EAD and MARC include a “Restrictions on Access” note that cites state statutes and provides the process for who and how records can be requested.
Best Practice in Action
- The Connecticut State Library also identifies the state archives staff member to contact for further assistance.
Types of Records
States will have various statutory and judicial restrictions on court records. Closed, sealed, and restricted records all have varying levels of access restrictions. Closed records often include adoptions and juvenile records. Sealed records typically are at the discretion of the presiding judge for the court of record. Restricted records include PII and victim and medical information. If an end is not defined by statute or rule, court records should be closed no longer than 10 years after the expected life of an individual (95 years), except for adoption, juvenile records and records whose disclosure would violate victims’ rights.
Records from the governor, the governor’s office, and other executive agencies are state government records, not personal records.
Records from the governor’s office include not only those from the governor but also from senior staff (as defined by statute or a records retention schedule) and the directors of all executive agencies. For example, Louisiana defines “Office of the Governor” in statute as records from the governor, chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, director of policy and executive counsel.
Governor’s materials should be transferred to the state archives at the end of each administration.
Each executive agency should have at least one designated records officer to work with the state archives on retention schedules, records transfers, and issues of PII.
Many state archives close access to attorney records but in no case should those records be permanently closed. Records created by attorneys working for state government are public records, subject to all state records laws and should be open to the public after a defined period.
Attorney-client privilege generally only applies when their responsibility is solely as counsel. Even in those instances, attorney-client privilege should be waived when records are deposited in the state archives or, if not, a time should be established for the records to be opened.
Medical records should be treated similarly to mental health records. State hospital admission and discharge records should be permanently retained as should audio/visual evidence, published materials, and statistical records, as well as records that document administrative operations and unique/historic treatments. Medical records often appear in court, inmate, and other files.
Many states permanently close mental health records. Exceptions are often made for descendants and other allowed parties such as academic researchers.
Because mental health records are sometimes scheduled as long-term or permanent records, it is tempting for agencies and institutions to retain these records. Whether open or not, these records (particularly admission and discharge logs, and similar records) should be transferred to the state archives for preservation after administrative and legal needs are met. When this happens, policies and procedures need to be in place for the release of records to descendants and other allowed parties. Such policies and procedures should include the involvement and permission of the state’s mental health agency.
CoSA further recommends that procedures, or researcher qualification processes, be put in place that include non-disclosure agreements for academic studies of mental health records that do not include the release of a patient’s information or any identification that could identify a patient’s medical team members.
After a set time (no longer than 10 years after the expected life of an individual (95 years)), mental health records should be open to the public, with the state archives reserving the ability to redact information that should not be disclosed.
Generally, state archives do not actively pursue non-governmental records. For the states that do have non-governmental records, they should follow the standards and best practices of the manuscript community.
State archives should ensure that the state has a social media policy that clearly defines what qualifies as an official record under applicable state records statutes and rules. No matter the communication platform, a system should be put in place to manage these records.
Use of non-governmental messaging and email should be highly discouraged for the conduct of official business. If they are used for the conduct of official business, the information they contain should be considered government records and managed appropriately.
Records Processing
State archives are among the largest archival repositories in the country. Therefore, minimal processing is necessary to make records available as quickly as possible. Initial processing of collection materials should be basic, followed by more detailed inventorying and processing efforts prioritized by record type, volume, and condition requirements. Transfer or donation documentation should contain detailed information related to the records, and any restriction requirements should be noted. Restriction information should also be included in any database or index entries for staff awareness.
Procedures should be in place for how the public can access records that haven’t yet been processed by staff to ensure restricted information is not released. Procedures should include the types of restricted information in the records, who can have access to the restricted records and related procedures, how to handle confidential or privileged information (filed separately, redaction), and how to cite information.
Established procedures must be communicated to all staff responsible for maintaining and providing access to the records (i.e., collections, reference). State archives should also include access information in their finding aids to inform patrons on the procedures.
State archives should create and have policies and procedures in place specifying the elements of records requiring redaction, for example as they relate to personally identifiable information (PII), personal health information (PHI), criminal history information (CHI) and victim’s rights.
Social Security Numbers of living individuals should always be redacted.
Other PII should be redacted for no longer than 10 years after the expected life of an individual (95 years).
State archives should contact their own counsel or the counsel of the agency of record for guidance on redaction.
Finding aids should follow Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS).
Finding aids should be accessible in either online or print formats and made readily available.
State archives should seek to have a statute or rule that exempts confidential elements (e.g., shelf locations) in its indexes from FOIA or sunshine requests.
State archives may also seek to have a statute or rule that exempts its finding aids and indexes from purchase by outside organizations.
Descriptive resources should be reviewed periodically, with the idea of revising outdated descriptions.
Best Practices are reviewed on a continuous schedule as the functions of state government and records management programs dictate.
- Initial development by the CoSA Advocacy Committee, June 2025.
- Approved by the CoSA Board of Directors, July 2025