New OMB/NARA Memorandum on Transition to Electronic Records

July 1, 2019 By Arian Ravanbakhsh, Posted In General, Senior Agency Official For Records Management

Late last week, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and NARA jointly issued a new memorandum with guidance on managing Federal records. The new memo, titled Transition To Electronic Records (OMB/NARA M-19-21) is available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/M-19-21.pdf

NARA is pleased to have the Administration’s continuing support for modernizing Federal agency recordkeeping and bringing about the necessary transformation to a fully electronic government.

This memorandum represents a logical progression from the goals established in the Managing Government Records Directive (OMB/NARA M-12-18), which is now superseded. OMB M-19-21 incorporates the key goals from that Directive and builds upon them with objectives that will further drive the Executive branch to all-electronic recordkeeping.

The new memo is a culmination of all the good work done by Federal agencies and NARA since 2012. It reinforces our commitment to digital government and recognizes the progress agencies have made in managing their email and other electronic records electronically.

We will be issuing additional guidance about this memo and the requirements it contains. We will also be sharing additional information with Senior Agency Officials for Records Management (SAORM), Agency Records Officers, and other agency records management staff at upcoming meetings, including the scheduled BRIDG meeting on August 27, and a meeting with SAORMs before then. In the meantime, and in preparation for those meetings, please send you questions to RMPolicy@nara.gov.