Data Retention Policy

DATA RETENTION POLICY

[ORGANIZATION NAME]

Policy Number: [POL-DATA-001]
Effective Date: [DATE]
Last Reviewed: [DATE]
Next Review Date: [DATE]
Policy Owner: [Chief Privacy Officer / Chief Information Officer]
Approved By: [Executive/Board]

1. PURPOSE

1.1 Policy Purpose

This Data Retention Policy establishes requirements for retaining and disposing of data and records to:

• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
• Support business operations and continuity
• Protect organizational interests in potential litigation
• Minimize data storage costs and security risks
• Support privacy principles of data minimization
• Meet data subject rights requirements under privacy laws

1.2 Guiding Principles

☐ Retain only what is necessary - Data should be retained only as long as required for business, legal, or regulatory purposes

☐ Know what you have - All data must be classified and inventoried

☐ Delete when no longer needed - Data must be securely disposed of when retention periods expire

☐ Protect during retention - Data must be appropriately protected during its lifecycle

☐ Document retention decisions - Retention periods and exceptions must be documented

2. SCOPE

2.1 Applicability

This policy applies to:

☐ All employees, contractors, and third parties handling organizational data

☐ All data created, received, maintained, or transmitted by [ORGANIZATION NAME]

☐ All data formats including:

• Electronic documents and files
• Paper documents
• Emails and communications
• Databases and systems
• Backup media
• Cloud-stored data
• Third-party hosted data

2.2 Data Types Covered

☐ Business records

☐ Financial records

☐ Human resources records

☐ Customer data

☐ Personal data (PII/PHI)

☐ Contracts and legal documents

☐ Communications (email, messaging)

☐ Marketing materials

☐ Technical documentation

☐ Security logs and audit trails

3. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Data Governance Roles

3.2 Data Owners

Data owners are responsible for:

☐ Classifying data under their control

☐ Determining appropriate retention periods within policy guidelines

☐ Ensuring timely disposal when retention periods expire

☐ Responding to legal holds affecting their data

4. DATA CLASSIFICATION

4.1 Classification Levels

4.2 Classification Requirements

☐ All data must be classified according to the above levels

☐ Classification should occur at data creation or acquisition

☐ Default classification for unclassified data: Internal

☐ Data owners may upgrade but not downgrade classifications

5. RETENTION SCHEDULE

5.1 Corporate and Business Records

5.2 Financial and Accounting Records

5.3 Human Resources Records

5.4 Customer and Sales Records

5.5 Personal Data (Privacy-Specific)

5.6 Legal and Compliance Records

5.7 IT and Security Records

5.8 Healthcare Records (HIPAA - if applicable)

6. LEGAL HOLDS

6.1 Legal Hold Definition

A legal hold (also known as litigation hold or preservation order) suspends the normal retention schedule and prevents destruction of potentially relevant data when:

☐ Litigation is reasonably anticipated or pending

☐ Government investigation or audit is underway

☐ Regulatory inquiry is received

☐ Internal investigation requires preservation

6.2 Legal Hold Process

6.2.1 Initiation

☐ Legal department initiates legal holds

☐ Legal hold notice identifies:

• Scope of data to be preserved
• Affected custodians and systems
• Duration of hold
• Contact for questions

☐ Legal holds take precedence over retention schedules

6.2.2 Compliance

☐ All recipients must acknowledge receipt of legal hold

☐ Recipients must preserve all data described in the hold

☐ Auto-deletion must be suspended for affected data

☐ Questions should be directed to Legal

6.2.3 Release

☐ Only Legal can release a legal hold

☐ Written notification of release will be provided

☐ Normal retention schedule resumes after release

☐ Data past retention period may be destroyed after release

6.3 Consequences of Violation

Failure to comply with a legal hold may result in:

☐ Disciplinary action

☐ Adverse legal consequences (spoliation sanctions)

☐ Monetary penalties

☐ Criminal liability

7. DATA DISPOSAL

7.1 Disposal Methods

7.1.1 Electronic Data

7.1.2 Physical Media

7.2 Disposal Requirements

☐ Disposal must be documented (certificate of destruction)

☐ Third-party disposal vendors must be approved and contracted

☐ Certificates of destruction must be retained for 3 years

☐ Disposal of Restricted data requires witness verification

7.3 Cloud Data Disposal

☐ Request deletion from cloud provider

☐ Obtain confirmation of deletion

☐ Verify deletion of backups per provider's schedule

☐ Consider cryptographic erasure where available

8. BACKUP AND ARCHIVAL

8.1 Backup Retention

8.2 Archive Distinction

☐ Archives are for long-term preservation of records with ongoing value

☐ Backups are for disaster recovery, not long-term retention

☐ Records requiring long retention should be archived separately

☐ Archive access should be restricted and audited

9. THIRD-PARTY DATA

9.1 Third-Party Requirements

☐ Third parties must follow this retention policy for data processed on our behalf

☐ Data processing agreements must include retention requirements

☐ Third parties must return or destroy data upon contract termination

☐ Certificates of destruction required from third parties

9.2 Third-Party Data Received

☐ Third-party data received should be retained only as necessary

☐ Third-party restrictions on retention must be followed

☐ Destruction timelines in agreements must be honored

10. COMPLIANCE AND MONITORING

10.1 Compliance Monitoring

☐ Regular audits of retention compliance

☐ Review of disposal records

☐ Verification of legal hold compliance

☐ Third-party compliance verification

10.2 Policy Review

☐ Annual review of retention schedules

☐ Updates for new regulations or business changes

☐ Legal counsel review of significant changes

10.3 Exceptions

☐ Exceptions require documented approval from Records Manager and Legal

☐ Exceptions must include business justification

☐ Exceptions must have defined end dates

☐ Exception register maintained

11. ENFORCEMENT

11.1 Compliance Responsibility

☐ All employees are responsible for complying with this policy

☐ Data owners responsible for data under their control

☐ IT responsible for technical implementation

☐ Legal responsible for legal hold management

11.2 Violations

Violations of this policy may result in:

☐ Disciplinary action

☐ Legal liability

☐ Regulatory penalties

12. DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX A: QUICK REFERENCE RETENTION CHART

DOCUMENT CONTROL

APPROVAL

This policy is the property of [ORGANIZATION NAME]. Questions should be directed to the Records Manager at [EMAIL].