Official Records Retention Schedules
Please Note: The UI Official Records Retention schedules are currently under revision. Updates will be posted periodically.
These retention schedules are designed to assist University departments in preserving Official Records appropriately while providing economy and efficiency in the creation, organization, maintenance, use, and disposition of records.
Search Criteria
Administrative Unit: represents either the administrative unit responsible for establishing the Official Record retention criteria OR the Administrative Unit responsible for maintaining the Official Records identified.
Confidential: indicates Official Records that contain information of various sorts that the University receives and holds confidential unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records or by another person duly authorized to release such information. Examples include: student records, medical records, personnel records, etc.
Vital: indicates Official Records that contain information considered essential for the operations of a department (and/or the University) and includes information that may prevent a department from incurring serious liability or risk, or that would be extremely costly to replace. In the event of a disaster, this information, if destroyed, would make it difficult for a department to conduct normal business activities.
Export the full list of Official Record Retention Schedules available to date – or use the search criteria below for a more targeted search.
Hazardous Waste Facility Audits
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Records of audits performed at the EMF
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: No
Vital: Yes
HazCom Program
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Hazardous Communication program (inventory lists or Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) for Occ Safety) for Non-laboratory UI departments with OSHA Haz Com requirements.
Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: No
Vital: No
Household Move Records
Category: Contracts, Real Estate and Leasing
Description:
Incoming Faculty & Staff Relocation. Including, but not limited to: invoices from the moving company, the department authorization and e-mails, the moving company estimates, any significant emails (for audit purposes) about agreements to pay for special items (art work, automobile moving, wine collections etc.).
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Purchasing, Accounts Payable and Travel
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Human and Non-Human Use Applications - Iowa Department of Public Health
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Applications for the use of radioactive materials in human, non-human and laboratory subjects and research.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
I-9's
Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment
Description:
I-9 Immigration Forms. Employers must retain an employee's completed form I-9 for as long as the individual works for the employer.
Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll
UI Retention Guidelines: Exception (see description)
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
IACUC Documents
Category: Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Description:
Animal welfare concerns, letters to regulatory agencies, annual agency reports, post-approval monitoring reports
Official Files Maintained by:
Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
UI Retention Guidelines: 3 years, per USDA/NIH regulations
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
IACUC Minutes, Semi-Annual Reports
Category: Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Description:
IACUC meeting minutes, semi-annual reports, and recommendations
Official Files Maintained by:
Office of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
UI Retention Guidelines: 3 years, per USDA/NIH regulations
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
IL-50I: Form IL-492-0053
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Illinois Employer Withholding Tax Payment filed monthly with Illinois Dept. of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.
Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
ILL-94I: Form IL-492-0018
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Illinois Employer's Quarterly Withholding Tax Return filed quarterly with Illinois Dept. of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.
Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Ill-W-3: Form IL-492-0019
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Annual Illinois Withholding Return filed annually with Illinois Department of Revenue & Finance by UI Payroll.
Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Payroll
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Immigration Approval Notice or Green Card
Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment
Description:
H1B, TN, O1, E3, H1B1-Chile/Singapore, etc. approval notices, lawful permanent resident (Green Cards) documentation.
Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years following termination of employee
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Immigration Filings Documentation
Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment
Description:
H1B, TN, O1, E3, H1B1-Chile/Singapore, etc. filings, lawful permanent resident (Green Card) filings and supporting documentation.
Official Files Maintained by:
University Human Resources - Faculty & Staff Immigration Services
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years following termination of employee
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Incident Files
Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention
Description:
Records of incidents involving personal injury and property damage to third parties both on and off University property.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Incident Files- injury to minors
Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention
Description:
Records of incidents involving personal injury to minors both on and off University property.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management
UI Retention Guidelines: Age to maturity plus 2 Years (20 yrs.)
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Incident Investigation Reports
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Reports from incident investigations, including those involving biological, chemicals, or radioactive materials, and other types of incidents, such as injury investigation follow-up, etc.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: No
Vital: No
Informal Resolutions of Complaints Brought to Academic or Administrative Officers
Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment
Description:
All records of informal resolutions of complaints brought to academic or administrative officers (AAOs) alleging violations of UI Community Policies, including witness statements and any associated findings.
Official Files Maintained by:
Local Department responsible for creating or overseeing the record
UI Retention Guidelines: Retained by the AAO or their successor for a period of no less than 7 years from the date of the filing of the complaint or the final university action taken in response to the report/complaint, which
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Institutional Biosafety Committee Meeting Minutes
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Minutes of the UI Institutional Biosafety Committee Meetings as required by the National Institutes of Health.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: No
Vital: Yes
Instrument Calibration Reports
Category: Environmental Health & Safety
Description:
Records of instruments calibrated for Principal Investigators
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: No
Vital: Yes
Inventor Sharing Agreements
Category: Inventions, Patents and Research Agreements
Description:
These are agreements signed by the inventors laying out unique distributions of personal income generated by the licensing of their disclosure. UI Policy outlines an equal sharing of a specified percentage of licensing income captured by UIRF.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Research Foundation
UI Retention Guidelines: Patent Term + 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Investment Statements
Category: Banking & Investments
Description:
Activity and investment performance reports, compliance documents
Official Files Maintained by:
Treasury Operations
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes