Destruction of Records

W.Va. Code §5A-8-17 states that no record shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by any agency of the state, unless it is determined by the Administrator and the Director of Archives and History that the record has no further administrative, legal, fiscal, research or historical value.

No records shall be destroyed without an approved records retention and disposal schedule which contains the record type you are seeking to destroy.

To seek approval to destroy any records, you must provide an Authorization to Destroy Records containing the records series number, series title, inclusive date of the records and the volume of records you wish to destroy. The request should be sent to recordsmanagement@wv.gov or provided to donna.m.lipscomb@wv.gov  You will be informed once the approval is granted.

It is imperative that records containing any Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or confidential information be destroyed through secure shredding. All destruction of records by the State Records Center or by a vendor must be done by secure shredding to assure there will be no breach of data.

The preferred method for destruction of records is by the State Records Center, as this is the most cost effective method.  However, if an agency has records contained on mixed media, such as microfilm, microfiche, cartridges, disks, cassette or thumb drives, those records will need to be destroyed by PACE off of the statewide contract for State Use Approved Commodities and Services (WVARF).  See the contract below for services, pricing, and ordering instructions.   

If an agency has records that need to be destroyed that are located a far distance from the State Records Center, they should evaluate the costs of travel, gas, administrative time, etc. and do a comparison to determine which method of destruction is the most cost effective.

State Use Approved Commodities and Services (WVARF)