FAQ > Sunshine Laws FAQs > Should all emails be kept for the same amount of time?

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Should all emails be kept for the same amount of time?
No. Just like messages written on paper, all email messages will not be kept for the same amount of time because they will differ greatly in terms of subject matter. Each email should be identified and managed based on its content.

For example, if an employee of a public office received a piece of paper on their desk noting that a meeting will be held at 3 p.m., the employee could probably discard that paper after the meeting has passed (this would likely be considered a “transient” record, or one that has a limited ministerial use). On the other hand, if the employee received a paper report updating all of the public office’s current projects, it would probably have to be retained for a much longer period of time because of its content. The duly enacted record retention schedules of the public office will determine how long these respective records would have to be kept.

The same is true for email messages. If the employee receives a simple email reminder of a meeting, it can probably be quickly discarded as “transient.” If an email is a notice to staff of a new policy, or serves as the record copy of an order to promote or dismiss an employee, or gives directions regarding an office project or legal case, it would be kept for the period applicable to each type of record.

Always remember, it is the content of a record that determines which retention schedule applies to that record, and determines how long it is to be kept. This is true regardless of whether the record is on paper or an email.