How to Conduct a Records Inventory: A Step-by-Step Guide
Take Control of Your Records
Get a free consultation to simplify storage, scanning, retrieval, and secure destruction.
Get StartedA records inventory is a descriptive list of every records series an organization holds, with its dates, volume, location, format, arrangement and owner. It describes series, not individual documents or folders. To conduct one, define the scope, survey every location, record the same elements for each series, measure volume in cubic feet and verify the results.
Every records program eventually meets the same storage room: shelves of boxes labeled “Accounting 2014” or “Misc. HR,” file cabinets nobody has opened since a reorganization, and a few hundred cartons offsite that were sent there by someone who has since left. A retention schedule can’t be applied to that room until someone knows what is in it. That is the job of a records inventory.
This guide covers what a records inventory is, why it comes before any retention, storage or disposition decision, what to record for each series, how to measure volume, how to run the inventory and how to keep it current. It draws on the inventory guidance published by the National Archives and several state archives, and it focuses on paper records in file rooms, basements and offsite boxes, where most inventories get stuck.
What a Records Inventory Is, and What It Is Not
A records inventory is a series-level description of the records an organization holds, wherever they are and whatever their format. It is not a list of every document or folder, and it is not a retention schedule; it is the information a schedule is built from.
The National Archives (NARA) defines an inventory as a descriptive listing of each record series or system, with its location and other pertinent data, and is explicit that it is not a list of each document or each folder. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission puts it more simply: a records inventory is a complete listing of the records held in an office, department or agency.
The unit that matters is the records series: a group of records arranged under a single filing system or kept together as a unit because they relate to the same subject or function or result from the same activity, such as personnel files, accounts payable invoices or building permits. Inventorying by series is what makes the job finishable. An office with 400 boxes may hold only a dozen series.
You will also see the term records survey. The Society of American Archivists defines a records survey as the process of gathering basic information about an organization’s records, including their quantity, form, location, physical condition, storage facilities and rate of accumulation. In practice, a survey is often the quick first pass that sizes the job, and the inventory is the detailed, series-by-series description that follows.
Why Inventory Before You Schedule, Store or Dispose
Every later decision about records depends on the inventory: which retention period applies, what stays in the office, what moves to storage, what is under a hold and what becomes eligible for review. Decisions made without it are guesses.
NARA states that an inventory’s main purpose is to provide the information needed to develop the schedule, and warns that an incomplete or haphazard inventory can only produce an inadequate schedule and loss of control over records. For federal agencies, the regulation itself lists preparing an inventory to identify records series, systems, and nonrecord materials as a step in scheduling (36 CFR 1225.12). The Texas guidance adds other uses: a completed inventory supports updating a retention schedule, beginning a disposition project or planning a migration to a new system, tool or location. New York’s State Archives lists determining storage needs among the benefits.
Here’s the part people miss: the inventory isn’t the spreadsheet. It’s the spreadsheet matching what is actually in the boxes. Oregon’s State Archives tells inventory teams to open each file drawer and each box and check the label, because old labels often stay on after the contents change. A box marked “2016 invoices” that also holds three personnel files will be scheduled as invoices, and those personnel files will reach review on the wrong date. The short version is that a fast inventory built from labels is slower in the end than a careful one built from contents.
Plan the Inventory: Scope, Support and Staffing
Plan the inventory before anyone opens a box: set its goals and scope, get management support, decide what to record, prepare the form, choose and train the people doing it, and find out where the records actually are. Scope should include every format and every location, offsite storage included.
NARA’s procedure lays out nine steps, and the first six are planning: define the inventory’s goals, define its scope, obtain top management’s support, decide on the elements to collect, prepare an inventory form, and decide who will conduct the inventory and train them. Then learn where the files are located, both physically and organizationally, conduct the inventory, and verify and analyze the results.
Scope is where inventories quietly shrink. NARA’s guidance is that the inventory should cover all records in the organization’s custody regardless of location or physical form, including electronic, audiovisual and microform records, and especially those stored offsite. Boxes in a storage facility are still your records, and they are often the ones with the least documentation.
Budget the time realistically. The Texas State Library (Bulletin C, updated 2025) estimates that one person can inventory an average of 20 to 30 cubic feet of records per day, and that experienced records staff may reach 150 cubic feet. At one cubic foot per standard records carton, a team without experienced records staff facing 600 cartons should plan on 20 to 30 person-days, before verification.
What to Record for Each Records Series
Record the same elements for every series: who holds it, where it is, what it is, the date range, format, arrangement, volume and growth, how often it is used, whether it is vital, any access restrictions and any hold, and the retention authority that applies.
NARA lists 19 elements of information for each series, from the date the inventory was prepared and the office maintaining the files to the disposition authority. Most organizations can work from a condensed version like the one below; the Texas guidance recommends a separate inventory worksheet for each records series.
| Element | What to capture | Why it matters later |
|---|---|---|
| Office and contact | The department that maintains the series and the person who knows it | Someone has to answer questions and approve decisions |
| Location | Room, cabinet, shelf, or offsite box numbers | Retrieval, holds and review all start with finding the records |
| Series title and description | A plain name and what the records document | Matching the series to the right retention rule |
| Inclusive dates | Earliest and latest dates in the series | Working out which records are still within retention |
| Medium and arrangement | Paper, microfilm, electronic; filed by name, number, date or subject | Planning retrieval, scanning on demand or a move |
| Volume and annual accumulation | Cubic feet today and how much is added each year | Space and storage planning |
| Cutoff and reference activity | When files close, and how often they are consulted | Deciding what stays in the office and what moves to storage |
| Vital records status | Whether the series is needed to operate after a disaster or to protect rights | Protection and continuity planning |
| Restrictions and holds | Privacy, confidentiality, and any litigation or audit hold | Access control and suspending any review |
| Retention authority | The schedule item or rule that applies, or “unscheduled” (keep these until one is assigned) | The basis for every disposition decision |
Reference activity deserves more attention than it usually gets. NARA defines records used more than once a month per file drawer as current or active, and records used less often as semicurrent, and recommends that, if other conditions are met, semicurrent records be transferred to a records center to await their scheduled disposition. That one column often decides how much office space the inventory gives back.
How to Measure Records Volume
Measure paper records in cubic feet, rounded to the nearest cubic foot. A letter-size file drawer holds about 1.5 cubic feet, a legal-size drawer about 2, and a standard records center carton 1. You don’t need to count pages; sample the drawers and multiply.
NARA asks for the volume of non-electronic records in cubic feet rather than linear feet, rounded to the nearest cubic foot, and suggests sampling the drawers to see whether they are relatively full, then multiplying the number of full drawers by the conversion ratio. Its conversion table gives 1.5 cubic feet for a letter-size drawer, 2 for a legal-size drawer and 1 for a standard records center carton. New York’s State Archives adds 2 cubic feet for a letter-size lateral drawer and 2.5 for a legal-size lateral drawer, and for anything irregular, multiply length by width by height in inches and divide by 1,728 (Inventory and Planning, 2003).
Record annual accumulation at the same time. A series that grows by 40 cubic feet a year changes a storage plan far more than one that is closed and static.
Conducting the Inventory Step by Step
Walk every location first to size the job, then work through one location at a time, open every drawer and box, complete one worksheet per series, flag holds and vital records as you go, and spot-check the results before anyone relies on them.
- Do a preliminary walk-through. Oregon’s guide recommends a preliminary survey of all office and storage areas to identify where records are, estimate the total volume, flag hazards and note space problems.
- Work one location at a time. Finish a room or a shelf range before starting the next, so nothing is counted twice or skipped.
- Open every container. Check contents against labels and note mismatches; don’t inventory from the outside of a box.
- Complete one worksheet per series. When a box holds more than one series, record each series and where its part of the box is.
- Flag holds, restrictions and vital records immediately. These change how the series is handled before the inventory is even finished.
- Interview the people who use the records. Reference activity, cutoff and annual accumulation are easier to get from staff than from the shelves.
- Verify and analyze. NARA recommends spot-checking for obvious errors such as missing locations, exaggerated volumes or mixed series before the results are used.
Flag vital records as you go; Oregon’s guide tells inventory teams to flag records that are vital or permanent. NARA’s Essential Records Guide (2018), which now uses the term essential records, calls designating them in an inventory a crucial step, and notes that in most agencies only a relatively small number of series qualify.
Turning the Inventory Into Retention and Storage Decisions
A finished inventory lets you map each series to its retention rule, keep active records close, move semiactive records to storage, protect anything under a hold, and see which records have become eligible for review. Eligibility starts a review; it does not trigger destruction.
Start by matching each series to the retention schedule or the state rules that govern it; our records retention guidelines by state point to each state’s schedules, and our guide to municipal record retention schedules walks through the mapping for local governments. Series that don’t match any schedule item are the ones to raise with legal or compliance first.
Holds come next, because they override everything else. New York’s State Archives is direct about it: records related to a matter under litigation hold must be kept at least for the duration of the action, even if their retention periods have passed. An inventory that records which boxes hold which series makes a hold something you can actually apply to specific containers; our guide to managing paper records during a litigation hold covers that process.
Records that reach the end of their retention period become eligible for review, not due for destruction. Confirm the period that applies, check for holds, get sign-off from the records owner and document the decision. Anything still needed, or in doubt, stays in storage. Texas recommends an inventory and appraisal before an office move, so that records already eligible for destruction are not moved needlessly. The same review applies there: eligibility first, approval second.
How Often to Update a Records Inventory
Update the inventory whenever something changes what you hold: a new program, a reorganization, a merger, an office move or a system change. Some jurisdictions also set a fixed cycle; California state agencies, for example, must inventory their records every five years.
NARA advises a new inventory when an organization begins a new program or undergoes a reorganization affecting program responsibilities. California’s Records Management Handbook notes that the State Administrative Manual requires state agencies to inventory their records once every five years, and the handbook expects that to cover records stored by a third party or offsite. The most practical approach is to keep the inventory live: record each box as it is added, moved or reviewed, so the next full inventory confirms the list instead of rebuilding it.
How GRM Keeps a Stored Inventory Current
For records in GRM storage, the inventory doesn’t have to be rebuilt by hand. Every box is barcoded and indexed at intake, every movement is logged, and clients can see and report on their inventory online.
Every GRM storage engagement begins with an evaluation of the client’s records inventory, storage requirements and retention policies. At intake, each box receives a unique barcode entered into GRM’s inventory management system, with box-level or folder-level tracking. Records are catalogued and assigned metadata and barcodes, and each movement is logged for traceability. Through the eAccess portal, clients view their inventory, search containers and file folders, request retrievals and run reports, including inventory additions and destruction eligibility, which is where a review starts. That keeps the inventory current between full reviews instead of letting it age on a shelf.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a records inventory?
A records inventory is a descriptive list of the records series an organization holds, with each series’ location, dates, volume, format, arrangement, owner and other details needed to schedule it. It describes series, not individual documents or folders, and it is the basis for building or updating a records retention schedule.
What is the difference between a records inventory and a records survey?
A records survey gathers basic information about an organization’s records, such as quantity, form, location, condition and storage, and is often used to size the work. A records inventory is the detailed, series-by-series description that follows, recording the elements needed to schedule, store and review each series.
What information should a records inventory include?
For each records series, a records inventory should include the office that maintains it, its location, title and description, inclusive dates, medium and arrangement, volume and annual accumulation, cutoff and reference activity, vital records status, access restrictions and holds, and the retention authority that applies. NARA’s federal guidance lists 19 elements in all.
How do you calculate records volume in cubic feet?
Count full file drawers and boxes and multiply by standard conversions: about 1.5 cubic feet for a letter-size drawer, 2 for a legal-size drawer and 1 for a standard records center carton. For irregular containers, multiply length by width by height in inches and divide by 1,728. Round to the nearest cubic foot.
How often should a records inventory be done?
A records inventory should be updated whenever an organization starts a new program, reorganizes, merges, moves offices or changes systems. Some jurisdictions also set a fixed cycle; California state agencies, for example, must inventory their records every five years. Keeping the inventory updated as boxes are added or moved reduces the work of each full review.
Records Inventory Support From GRM
GRM provides indexed offsite storage with barcode tracking at box or folder level and logged retrievals, climate-controlled vault storage for media, scanning on demand when a file is needed quickly, and documented destruction once eligibility is confirmed and approved. To turn your records inventory into an organized, searchable storage plan, request a free quote.