Free retention policy generator
Know what to keep, and for how long.
1. Your organization
2. Pick the records you keep
Tax returns, the records behind them and audit files.
Tax returns and supporting records
3 to 7 years
IRS
Employment tax records
At least 4 years
IRS
Invoices, receipts and bank statements
As long as the return they support
IRS (supporting records)
Records on property and equipment
Until the limitation period ends for the year you dispose of it
IRS
Audit workpapers
7 years
Sarbanes-Oxley Section 802, SEC Rule 2-06
Something not listed?
3. Your schedule
Add the records you keep from the list. Each one comes with its period, its starting point and the rule it comes from.
A starting point, not legal advice. Every period and source comes from the retention schedules page. Your state, your industry and your contracts can require more, so have counsel review the schedule before you adopt it.
Getting it right
Four habits of a schedule that holds up.
- 01
Start from the rules
List the federal, state and industry rules that apply to you. They set the minimum for each record type.
- 02
Write down why
Note the rule or business reason behind every period, so the schedule holds up in an audit or a dispute.
- 03
Plan for legal holds
When litigation or an audit is likely, the hold overrides the schedule until it is lifted.
- 04
Review it every year
Rules and record types change. A yearly review keeps the schedule current.
This draft is a starting point, not legal advice. A schedule only works if something enforces it. Content Central applies retention rules and legal holds to every document automatically, with a full audit trail of what was kept and destroyed. See the retention schedules guide for every rule behind this generator, with notes on each.
Free live demo
See retention rules and legal holds run themselves.
Book a free demo and we will show you around, answer your questions and run your real paperwork through it. No cost, no pressure.
- A live tour of the products that fit your work
- Your own documents, set up and shown working
- Your workflow and process, mapped with you
- Straight answers from people who build it
