Retention Policy

A retention policy is a rule attached to a class of documents specifying:

• Trigger event: what starts the retention clock (creation, end of fiscal year, contract expiry, employee termination)
• Retention period: how long the document is kept
• Disposition action: what happens at expiry (delete, archive, transfer)
• Legal authority: which law or regulation justifies the policy
• Override behaviour for litigation hold: held documents are exempt

In Papyrus, retention policies are configured under Admin → Compliance → Retention Policies. Each policy applies to a specific document classification (or folder).

When a document's retention period expires, the document enters a disposition queue for Records Officer review. The disposition is not automatic — a human reviews, considers any litigation hold, and approves the action. The disposition is itself logged.

See also

• Records Retention
• Litigation Hold
• Building a Records Retention Schedule