The following are some examples of email retention. These are only examples and any specific questions should be directed to your Records Coordinator the DES Agency Records Officer.
By default, DES Accounts do not have an assigned Retention policy. When an email reaches 6 months from the date of creation, it will automatically move to the Online Archive folder and be retained per the rention timeframe set by the Employee. Employees can change the retention labels in order to comply with their division email retention requirements.
| Retention Timeframe | Retention description |
| 1 day |
Records with no historical, business or legal value - any record that's not useful to keep for very long, e.g. non-work related emails, spam. |
| 3 Months |
Records with no historical, business or legal value - any record that's not useful to keep for very long, e.g. non-work related emails, spam. |
| 6 Months (DES Default) |
Routine correspondence; no significant importance; Non-Archival |
|
1 year |
Routine correspondence; minimum importance; Non-Archival |
|
2 years (DES Default) |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 2 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
3 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 3 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
6 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 6 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
7 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 7 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
10 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 10 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
15 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 15 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
30 years |
Correspondence with significant importance related to a function with a 30 year or less total retention period.* (Non-Archival) |
|
60 years |
Correspondence relating to an archival or permanent function of the agency. Emails must be retained and transferred to the State Archives before the employee departs the agency. Contact the Agency Records Officer for assistance. |
*”Total retention period” refers to the entire length of time the record will exist. For example, contract documents have a 6 year retention period (under GS 01050); however, the total retention period will be the length of the contract, plus the additional 6 year retention period.
Retention Labels Tips and Tricks
Below are some different ways to delete emails you do not wish to retain.
- If the email has already been assigned a retention policy, the only way to completely delete the item is to assign the email to a shorter retention period. You can reassign the email to the 0001-Day-Delete-Labeled Date label. This will automatically delete the email in one day.
-
Deleted Items Folder:
- If you empty the Deleted Items folder, all of the emails will be permanently deleted regardless of retention policy.
- Unless the Deleted Items folder is emptied, emails will stay in the folder for the retention period assigned to the email.
- If you empty the Deleted Items folder, all of the emails will be permanently deleted regardless of retention policy.
- Folders and Sub-folders: Folders and sub-folders will default to the "parent" retention. You can change the retention for a folder or sub-folder in order to have it act independently of the parent. Example: You want a sub-folder under the "002 Year Retention" folder to be retained for 10 years. You may change the sub-folder and it will not impact the parent folder.