Record Retention Guidelines
These retention periods are offered for guideline purposes only. Please have your company attorney and accountant approve your records retention timetable.
Accident reports/claims (settled cases) – 7 years
Accounts payable ledgers and schedules – 7 years
Accounts receivable ledgers and schedules – 7 years
Audit reports – Permanent
Bank reconciliations – 2 years
Bank statements – 3 years
Capital stock and bond records, ledgers, transfer registers, stubs, etc. – Permanent
Cash books – Permanent
Charts of accounts – Permanent
Checks, cancelled (for important payments: taxes, purchases of property, special contracts) – Permanent
Checks, cancelled – 7 years
Contracts, mortgages, notes, leases – expired – 7 years
Contracts, mortgages, notes, leases – active – Permanent
Correspondence – general – 2 years
Correspondence – legal and important – Permanent
Deeds, mortgages, bills of sale – Permanent
Depreciation schedules – Permanent
Deposit slips, duplicates – 2 years
Employment applications – 3 years
Expense analysis/expense distribution schedules – years
Financial statements – Permanent
Garnishments – 7 years
General/private ledgers, year-end trial balance – Permanent
Insurance policies – expired – 3 years
Insurance records – current, accident reports, claims, policies – Permanent
Internal reports – general – 3 years
Inventories – 7 years
Invoices – 7 years
Journals – Permanent
Magnetic tape and tab cards – 1 year
Minute books of directors, stockholders, bylaws, charter – Permanent
Notes receivable ledgers and schedules – 7 years
Option records – expired – 7 years
Patents and related papers – Permanent
Payroll records and summaries – 7 years
Personnel files – terminated – 7 years
Petty cash vouchers – 3 years
Physical inventory tags – 3 years
Plant cost ledgers – 7 years
Property appraisals by outside appraisers – Permanent
Property records (costs, depreciation reserves, year-end trial balances, blueprints, etc.) – Permanent
Purchase orders – except purchasing department copy – 1 year
Purchase orders – purchasing department copy – 7 years
Receiving sheets – 1 year
Requisitions – 1 year
Retirement and pension records – Permanent
Sales commissions reports – 3 years
Sales records – 7 years
Scrap and salvage records – 7 years
Stenographers’ notebooks – 1 year
Stock and bond certificates – cancelled – 7 years
Subsidiary ledgers – 7 years
Tax returns and worksheets, revenue agents’ reports, etc. – Permanent
Time books/cards – 7 years
Trademark registrations and copyrights – Permanent
Training manuals – Permanent
Union agreements – Permanent
Vouchers for payments – 7 years
Withholding tax statements – 7 years