Official Records Retention Schedules
Please note: The official University of Iowa Records Retention schedules are currently under revision. Updates will be posted periodically. The official UI Health Care Records Retention Schedule is available separately to assist UI Health Care departments.
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.
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
Iowa Form IA 1120 - Corporation Income Tax Return
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Filed annually with Iowa Dept. of Revenue and Finance by UIHC for U of I Health System Inc. and subsidiaries.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Health Care
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Iowa Premium Tax Return
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Tax Return Filed annually to Iowa Dept. of Revenue and Finance for Iowa Medical Mutual Insurance Co. (IMMIC)
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Health Care
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Iowa Site File Records
Category: Administrative Records
Description:
Recorded archaeological sites in Iowa and associated information.
Official Files Maintained by:
Office of the State Archaeologist
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Iowa State Sales Tax Return
Category: Tax Records
Description:
Sales Tax Quarterly/Semi-Monthly Payments Return filed quarterly with Iowa Dept. of Revenue & Finance by UI Accounting Services.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Accounting & Financial Reporting
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Issued Patents
Category: Inventions, Patents and Research Agreements
Description:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will send a limited number of marked or ribboned original patents upon issuance.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Research Foundation
UI Retention Guidelines: Patent Term + 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Land Transactions
Category: Contracts, Real Estate and Leasing
Description:
Purchase agreements; deeds; closing documents; land abstracts.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Business Manager Office
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Leases
Category: Contracts, Real Estate and Leasing
Description:
Signed lease where UI is either the tenant or landlord; Including all ground and tenant leases at UI Research Park.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Business Manager Office
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years from termination
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Letter of Credit
Category: Grants and Awards
Description:
Documentation of federal letter of credit funding requests, including monthly reports & reconciliations, quarterly reporting to agencies, and documentation of payments received.
Official Files Maintained by:
Grant Accounting Office
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Liability Claims
Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention
Description:
Liability claims filed against the UI, other than tort, where commercial insurance coverage was purchased.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Liability insurance policies
Category: Risk Management, Insurance and Loss Prevention
Description:
Liability insurance files including policy documents, applications, renewals, correspondence, and working files for various lines of coverage.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Risk Management
UI Retention Guidelines: 10 Years (end of the tail/covered period +10 Years for claims-made policies)
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
License/Option/3rd Party Revenue Sharing
Category: Inventions, Patents and Research Agreements
Description:
These are all agreements related to commercial availability and distribution of income related to inventions, patents and research agreements.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Research Foundation
UI Retention Guidelines: Patent Term + 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Litigation Records
Category: Audit & Legal
Description:
Pleadings/settlement agreements of any legal action or lawsuit brought against the University of Iowa.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Office of the General Counsel
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years past the settlement date
Confidential: No
Vital: No
Long-distance Telephone Charges
Category: Administrative Records
Description:
Documentation of monthly long distance telephone charges.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Telecommunication & Network Services
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Maps
Category: Facilities Management
Description:
Campus maps including property, utilities, site surveys, soil borings. Plans/drawings and any items deemed confidential by legal counsel are considered confidential.
Official Files Maintained by:
UI Facilities Management
UI Retention Guidelines: Permanent
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Material Transfer Agreements (incoming)
Category: Grants and Awards
Description:
Agreement that governs the provision of materials from a provider organization to the University.
Official Files Maintained by:
Division of Sponsored Programs
UI Retention Guidelines: 5 Years
Confidential: Yes
Vital: Yes
Medical Personnel Records (Student, Staff and Faculty employees)
Category: Personnel, Human Resources and Recruitment
Description:
Medical Personnel files contain all forms related to the staff member's medical information related to their employment; i.e., FMLA letters and medical certifications, ADA accommodation information, catastrophic leave letters and documentation, worker's compensation records, documentation of medical leaves of absence, etc.
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