Rule 7. Judicial Retention Schedules

A. Authority to Dispose of Records. Clerks of Circuit Court, Judges and other court officers shall dispose of records in the manner set out in this Rule and in accordance with the retention schedules specified herein. The retention schedules set out in this Rule should be presented to the appropriate county records commission, one time only for informational purposes, before disposal of the records. Prior to disposal of judicial records not listed on this schedule, or if special circumstances necessitate the retention or disposal of judicial records in a manner not set forth in this Rule, a circuit court clerk, judge or other officer of the court must seek written authorization from the Indiana Office Judicial Administration (IOJA) to maintain or destroy such records. B. Authorized Formats of Permanent Records. Records required to be maintained permanently under this Rule may be maintained in their original format, on microfilm, or in electronic format. The record keeping formats plus the quality and permanency requirements employed for permanent records shall be approved by the IOJA to ensure compliance with this Rule, Administrative Rule 6, and Trial Rule 77. Records which may be microfilmed under this Rule must be microfilmed in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Rule 6. The retention schedules will identify which records are authorized to be microfilmed and may provide other specifications such as a time period to maintain a record in its original format before microfilming is permitted. Microfilming other records is not authorized because the cost of microfilming exceeds the costs of storage for the duration of the retention period. If special circumstances arise, a circuit court clerk, judge, or other officer of the court may seek written authorization from the IOJA to microfilm records other than those herein authorized. Records which may be maintained electronically under this Rule must be stored and preserved in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Rule 6. Records maintained electronically must be kept so that a hard copy can be generated at any time. C. Records Authorized for Transfer. Records deemed permanent or authorized for transfer to the Indiana State Archives. Indiana Archives and Records Administration, must follow the Archive’s written procedures and use its approved forms before transfer can occur. With the written approval of the Indiana Supreme Court, records authorized for transfer to the Archives Division of the Indiana Archives and Records Administration may be deposited by said Archive with a local repository, such as a historical society, library, archives, or university, as designated by the Archive and meeting the archival standards of the Archive. D. Retention Schedules. These retention schedules are based upon assumptions that because certain records exist, others may be destroyed. Due to fire disasters, or other causes, this may not be true for all Indiana counties. Therefore, the first step is to conduct an inventory to determine if records requiring permanent retention or transfer do indeed exist before destroying records by series whose authority for destruction is based on the fact that other records exist. The list of retention schedules is arbitrarily arranged by type of jurisdiction and not by court, since jurisdictions overlap from court to court with original, concurrent and exclusive jurisdictions. Different courts in different counties can exercise the same jurisdiction. The date of 1790 means that the record potentially could date from the formation of the county. The format includes a number, as 85-4.3-04, which gives the year of the schedules (1985), the jurisdiction (4.3, or family law/adoptions) and the record series item (04). As new record series are added, additional numbers will be assigned. If a series is amended, it will be followed by an “R” for “revised.” The jurisdictions, which can be the same for a number of courts, are classified as: 85-1.1 Civil 85-1.2 Chancery 85-1.3 Lis Pendens Series 85-1.4 Partitions 85-1.5 Dissolution of Marriage 85-3.1 Wills 85-3.2 Estates 85-3.3 Guardianships 85-3.4 Trusts 85-4.1 Juvenile 85-4.2 Paternity 85-4.3 Adoption 85-4.4 Birth Certificate Record Small Claims Misdemeanors Traffic Infractions Plenary Civil City Civil Jurisdiction 85-8.1 Insanity/Mental Health 85-8.2 Epileptic Hearings 85-8.3 Feeble-Minded Hearings 85-8.4 Riley Hospital Hearings 85-8.5 Children Ordered to Public Hospitals 85-8.6 IU Medical Center Hearings 85-8.7 Receiverships 85-8.8 Drainage

It is critically important that these schedules be carried out exactly as approved since this is your legal authority to do so, and only for the records so listed. Once a record is destroyed, its information is lost. Do not assume that the record under consideration is the record actually authorized for destruction. You must compare both the title and content before a record series can be destroyed. Work in a spirit of caution. If in doubt, save until you can get advice from the Division of IOJA or the Indiana Archives and Records Administration. Civil (1) Criminal (2) Estates (3) (Separate record series from probate, estates) Family Law (4) County Court and Courts Performing County Court Functions (5) Naturalizations (6) (Formerly schedules 85-6-1 through 12). Transfer any and all naturalization records immediately to the Archives Division, Indiana Archives and Records Administration through the IOJA. See Indiana Rules of Court, 1991, page 675 for list. Court Of Conciliation (7) Special Judicial Functions (8) General Schedules (9) Trial Rule 77 Schedules (10)