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DESTRUCTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS <br />Q. When can I destroy records? <br />A. Each record series listed on this schedule has specific disposition instructions that indicate how long that <br />series must be kept in your offices. In some cases, the disposition instructions are "Retain in office <br />permanently," which means that those records must be kept in your offices forever. (See also the <br />question above, "How should I deal with my permanent records?") <br />Q. How do I destroy records? <br />A. After your agency has approved this records retention and disposition schedule, records should be <br />destroyed in one of the following ways: <br />a) burned, unless prohibited by local ordinance; <br />b) shredded, or torn up so as to destroy the record content of the documents or material concerned; <br />c) placed in acid vats so as to reduce the paper to pulp and to terminate the existence of the documents <br />or materials concerned; <br />d) buried under such conditions that the record nature of the documents or materials will be <br />terminated; <br />e) sold as waste paper, provided that the purchaser agrees in writing that the documents or materials <br />concerned will not be resold as documents or records. <br />— N.C. Administrative Code, Title 7, Chapter 4, Subchapter M, Section .0510 <br />Confidential records should be destroyed in a secure manner so that the information contained in them <br />cannot be used. We do not recommend the disposal in a landfill of records containing confidential <br />information. <br />Q. How can I destroy records if they are not listed on this schedule? <br />A. Contact the Records Management Analyst assigned to your county. Your analyst will discuss the nature of <br />the records with you to determine if the records have historical value. If the records do have historical <br />value, we will discuss the possibility of transferring the records to the State Archives of North Carolina to <br />be preserved permanently. <br />If the records do not have historical value, we will ask you to complete a Request for Disposal of <br />Unscheduled Records form (located at the end of this schedule) if the records are not currently created. <br />If the records are an active records series, your analyst will help you develop an amendment to this <br />schedule so that you can continue to destroy the records appropriately. <br />Q. I have some old records that aren't on this schedule, but that we don't <br />use any more. How can I get them destroyed? <br />A. At the end of this schedule is a form called the Request for Disposal of Unscheduled Records Complete <br />that form and submit it to us. We will get in touch with you, and make a determination about that <br />destruction. <br />Q. Do I have to tell anyone about the destruction? <br />A. We recommend that you report on your records retention activities to your Board of Commissioners on <br />an annual basis. This report does not need to be detailed, but it is important that significant destructions <br />be entered into the minutes of the Board. <br />Attachment number 1 <br />F -9 Page 95 <br />