Materials Disposal Guide
Information contained on paper, digital, or magnetic media that is no longer needed and has been retained as long as necessary according to the University’s records retention schedules should be disposed of as soon as possible.
Some categories of material are:
- University records, which do not need to be archived or held permanently but do require State approval for disposal after they have met their retention requirements.
- University records, which should be transferred to the appropriate University Archives after meeting retention requirements.
- Materials produced by non-University entities and held for reference or solicitation purposes only, which are non-records and require no approval for disposal.
- Copies of University records created by other offices, or paper originals of scanned documents, which are also classified as non-records.
Generally, the materials disposal process is as follows:
- Contact RIMS.
- Inventory and assess your materials.
- Obtain State approval for those materials that require it.
- Please note that this applies regardless of format, so digital and paper files may both need approval. Additional, approval is required for original copies of scanned records with permanent retention.
- Destroy/delete materials.
- Contact the appropriate University Archivist to discuss transfer of any archival materials.
This guide provides more detail about each of these processes. Please feel free to contact RIMS with any question you might have!
Materials Assessment and State Approval Request Process
Some materials require approval from the State of Illinois before they can be disposed of. This section contains information on how to request approval, and also provides resources and guides to assist users in determining if their items fit into this category.
Read More About Assessing Materials and Requesting State Approval For Disposal
Contact RIMS
If you are new to records management or have any questions about the disposal approval request process, please get in touch with RIMS. Contacting us via either our contact form or email address will create a TeamDynamix ticket. RIMS will review the ticket and, if necessary, schedule a meeting to discuss any questions.
Inventory Your Material
Use the RIMS inventory template to perform an initial review of the files and classify them into specific categories (e.g. financial transaction receipts, letters of recommendation for promotion & tenure, departmental committee meeting minutes, etc.).
More About Inventorying Files
Most record types are listed on the State approved Records Retention Schedules on our main RIMS site. Identify the date range (e.g. FY09-FY12 or 8/1998-12/2005) and the volume of documents (in cubic feet for paper records, or gigabytes for digital records). The Volume Estimation Guide may be a helpful resource in this task.
Please note that the dates needed are not always the actual dates of the items. The date needed is based on the "retention trigger" of the materials. In the case of financial transaction receipts, which need to be retained for 5 years after transaction date, the date of transaction is the "retention trigger," or the date when the retention period begins. However, promotion and tenure files must be retained for 6 years following the person's separation from employment. In this case, the separation date is the "retention trigger."
Additionally, you need not fill out one row in the template spreadsheet for each file, or even for each box/drawer. Each row should simply be a group of like materials.
For example:
A unit wants to dispose of 1 Bankers box of financial transaction receipts. The Volume Estimation Guide says this is 1 cubic foot of material, the Financial Transaction Records retention schedule section identifies these documents as "routine operation financial transaction records," and the unit notes that the they date from 1/2014 to 5/2014. They have been retained for the required 5 years and then some, and are now eligible to be disposed of. This row in the Inventory Template might look like this:
| Box # or equivalent | Description | Volume (cubic feet or gigabytes) | Date Range (mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy) |
Retention Trigger Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankers Box 1 | Financial transaction receipts, routine financial operations records | 1 cubic foot | 1/2014-5/2014 |
Creation/submission/publication date |
What if the unit had three Bankers boxes of letters of recommendation for the promotion & tenure process? The documents date from 1/1990 to 12/1995, and need to be held for 6 years following separation from employment per the Promotion and Tenure Files retention schedule section. The unit will need to figure out the dates that the individuals in question separated from University employment - let's say they turn out to be from 4/2012 to 8/2016, meaning that these are now eligible to be disposed of. A row in the Inventory Template could look like:
| Box # or equivalent | Description | Volume (cubic feet or gigabytes) | Date Range (mm/yyyy - mm/yyyy) |
Retention Trigger Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bankers Boxes 2-5 | Letters of recommendation, promotion and tenure files | 3 cubic feet | 4/2012-8/2016 |
Creation/submission/publication date |
Determine Retention Status
Using the inventory from Step 2 and the records retention schedules, determine if your records have met their retention and are thus eligible for disposal.
Identify Duplicates and Non-Records
Many documents in your unit may be non-records or duplicates, none of which require State approval prior to disposal.
Guides for Identifying Non-Records
The following resources might help:
- “What is Records and Information Management” KnowledgeBase article
- Communication 003: Identification of University Records versus Non-Records
- RIMS Guide for the Clarification of Non-Record Materials
If you are still unsure, the RIMS office can help you identify your non-record materials.
Submit Disposal Request to RIMS
After you have inventoried your records, removed any non-records, and determined that they have met their retention requirements, you can then submit a disposal approval request to RIMS.
Disposal Processes
As of June 2025, there are two ways to request disposal. If you have determined that your materials include Administration Records, Business and Financial Records, Human Resources Records, Student Records, or any combination thereof, please use our Disposal Request Form.
If you have any other type of material, please send the Inventory Template started in Step 2 to the RIMS team.
Early each month, RIMS submits to the State all disposal requests received during the previous month.
Disposal Approved
State approval for disposal should be received approximately 30-45 days from the date the request was submitted to the State. Once approval has been granted, the RIMS team will tell your unit on or after what date the proper disposal/deletion of records may proceed.
Materials Disposal Process
When you have received disposal approval (or if your materials do not require it), your materials must be properly disposed of as soon as possible. Most types of information require secure disposal, especially that with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI).
Read More About the Process for Materials Disposal
Identify Restricted Information
If your media contain high risk or restricted content, you must identify and protect it (e.g., in locked containers or by encryption) until it can be securely disposed.
More About Restricted Information
Such content can include but is not limited to names and birth dates, driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, and personal health information (PHI). Be aware that this can also be hidden information (e.g., copier or printer data storage) or on damaged media. Hidden information can be stored on the disk of an office copier or scanner. If your office transmits restricted information using such a machine, the Illinois Data Security on Computers Act requires the device to have its data overwritten prior to repurposing. Each University’s Information Security program (UIUC/UIS, UIC) provides more information about sensitive content and how to identify it.
Media Reuse
If you plan to reuse storage media such as tapes or hard drives, or you want to transfer equipment to another unit or a surplus repository, data must be fully overwritten prior to reuse or transfer.
Media Reuse Best Practices
For media still in active use by you/your unit, electronic data may simply be deleted once you have permission from RIMS to proceed with disposal (if applicable). Please consult with your unit’s IT personnel on the best practices for secure deletion. For technical assistance with disk scrubbing, contact the Technology Solutions Helpdesk in Chicago, Tech Services Help Center in Urbana-Champaign, or ITS Client Services in Springfield.
Non-Restricted Information/Content
If your media do not contain restricted content, you may dispose of the materials directly in campus recycling bins, or an e-waste bin for non-reusable digital or magnetic media, once you have permission from RIMS to proceed with disposal (if applicable).
Restricted Information/Content
If your media contain restricted content, click the collapsible menu below and follow one of the steps once you have permission from RIMS to proceed with disposal (if applicable).
Secure Disposal Options
- Use an in-house cross-cut shredder to shred paper to a maximum width of 3/8 in.
- Hire a vendor. Contact the appropriate campus purchasing office for assistance in this process. Please notify Purchasing and the vendor you select if any items might contain: Health, Payroll, Credit Card, Student or Personal Identifying information. These items require special handling and security measures.
- (Urbana-only) Transfer paper media directly to the Waste Management and Recycling facility using their large paper tote (be sure to request one with a lock), or via transfer of closed boxes by the campus movers to the facility.
Submit Disposal Confirmation to RIMS Office
After proper disposal of the documents has taken place, notify RIMS by replying to the email authorizing disposal.
Transferring Records to Archives
Some records must be transferred to the University Archives on the appropriate campus.
Read More About Transferring Records to Archives
Records Transfer
Arrangements should be made with the University Archives on the appropriate campus to secure materials in place or transfer them to the Archives for permanent retention.
When the requirement for retention indicates records should be transferred to the University Archives, departments will need to follow the procedures established by the Archives to complete the transfer process. More detailed information for the specific University Archives transfer process on your campus can be found by emailing the applicable Archives via the links below or by contacting the RIMS office.
Chicago - lib-spec@uic.libanswers.com
Springfield - archives@uis.libanswers.com
Urbana-Champaign - illiarch@illinois.edu
Once an inventory is complete and the transfer procedures have been followed, the materials can be transferred to the University Archives. (When your unit is ready to move materials, refer to the contact information under the Records Management - Planning a Move section of the Records Storage page for the next steps.) When the transfer is complete, your unit should submit confirmation to the RIMS office verifying completion of the materials transfer.
Have a question that isn't answered here or need more specialized guidance? Please reach out!
Records and Information Management Services
Visit the Contact RIMS page of our website to get in touch!
Urbana Office: Rm. 450 Henry Administration Building (HAB), M/C 359
Chicago Office: Rm. 258 Roosevelt Road Building (RRB), M/C 010