How long does the State maintain records?

 New York State agencies retain records long enough to meet legal, fiscal, administrative, and historical requirements. This varies greatly among different types of records. For example, some routine administrative records such as employee timesheets and travel vouchers are only retained for 3 years while other more significant records, for example construction drawings or legal case files, must be retained far longer. About 5% of records are identified as archival by the New York State Archives and retained permanently for public research and other uses. The State Archives, in conjunction with the Office of the State Comptroller and the Office of the Attorney General, is responsible for establishing retention periods for all records created by executive branch agencies. The Legislature and the Unified Court System have responsibility for retention of records for the legislative and judicial branches. Additional information on New York State requirements for maintaining records is available on the State Archives web site.

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Managing New York State Government Records
Information on Management of Government Records.
URL: http://www.nysarchives.org/a/nysaservices/ns_mgr.shtml