A. No agency shall sell or give away public records. No agency shall destroy or discard a public record unless (i) the record appears on a records retention and disposition schedule approved pursuant to § 42.1-82 and the record's retention period has expired; (ii) a certificate of records destruction, as designated by the Librarian of Virginia, has been properly completed and approved by the agency's designated records officer; and (iii) there is no litigation, audit, investigation, request for records pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.), or renegotiation of the relevant records retention and disposition schedule pending at the expiration of the retention period for the applicable records series. After a record is destroyed or discarded, the agency shall forward the original certificate of records destruction to The Library of Virginia.
B. No agency shall destroy any public record created before 1912 without first offering it to The Library of Virginia.
C. Each agency shall ensure that records created after July 1, 2006 and authorized to be destroyed or discarded in accordance with subsection A, are destroyed or discarded in a timely manner in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, such records that contain identifying information as defined in clauses (iii) through (ix), or clause (xii) of subsection C of § 18.2-186.3, shall be destroyed within six months of the expiration of the records retention period.
1990, c. 778; 1998, c. 427; 2005, c. 787; 2006, cc. 60, 909.
Structure Code of Virginia
Chapter 7 - Virginia Public Records Act
§ 42.1-76. Legislative intent; title of chapter
§ 42.1-76.1. Notice of Chapter
§ 42.1-78. Confidentiality safeguarded
§ 42.1-79. Records management function vested in the Library of Virginia
§ 42.1-82. Duties and powers of Library Board
§ 42.1-85. Records Management Program; agencies to cooperate; agencies to designate records officer
§ 42.1-86. Essential public records; security recovery copies; disaster plans
§ 42.1-86.01. Records may be retained in electronic medium
§ 42.1-86.1. Disposition of public records
§ 42.1-87. Archival public records
§ 42.1-88. Custodians to deliver all records at expiration of term; penalty for noncompliance
§ 42.1-89. Petition and court order for return of public records not in authorized possession
§ 42.1-90. Seizure of public records not in authorized possession
§ 42.1-91.1. Availability of public records created prior to January 1, 1901