(a) If an agency intends to digitally reproduce (digitize) temporary records in order to use the digitized records in place of the source records, the agency must:

(1) Digitize the record to the standards in § 1236.32;

(2) Validate the digitization according to § 1236.34; and

(3) Manage the digital records according to the requirements in subparts A, B, and C of this part.

(b) When an agency disposes of source records, the agency must follow the requirements in § 1236.36.

When digitizing temporary records, agencies must meet the following standards:

(a) Capture all information contained in the source records;

(b) Include all the pages or parts from the source records;

(c) Ensure the agency can use the digitized records for all the purposes the source records serve, including the ability to attest to transactions and activities;

(d) Protect against unauthorized deletions, additions, or alterations to the digitized versions; and

(e) Ensure the agency can locate, retrieve, access, and use the digitized versions for the records' entire retention period.

(a) Agencies must validate that the digitized records are of suitable quality to replace source records.

(b) Agencies may establish their own validation process or use third-party processes to validate that the digitized records comply with § 1236.32. The process may be project-based or agency-wide policy.

(c) Agencies must document the validation process and retain that documentation for the life of the process or the life of any records digitized using that process, whichever is longer.

(d) NARA may review validation documentation as needed.

(a) When an agency disposes of source records, it must have an approved agency records schedule or identify an applicable General Records Schedule.

(b) When an agency has validated that the digitized versions meet the standards in § 1236.32, the agency may destroy the source records according to General Records Schedule (GRS) 4.5 Digitizing Records.

(c) Agencies must consider any existing legal restrictions, such as a litigation hold, before destroying the source records.

(d) Agencies must manage the digitized records in the same way it would have managed the source records. Agencies must retain the digitized records for the remaining portion of any retention period established by the applicable records schedule.

(e) Agencies do not need NARA approval to destroy scheduled temporary source records they have digitized according to this part.