No, there are no exceptions. HOWEVER there are several types of records that can be disposed of as soon as they’ve outlived their usefulness. For a list of records that can be destroyed/deleted as soon as they have served their reference purpose, refer to Materials That May Be Disposed of Without a Specific Retention Period.

Some common examples include preliminary drafts, duplicates, scheduling emails, automatically-generated notifications, and routine informational exchanges. These types of records oftentimes constitute a large portion of the records an office or individual receives, but can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from more valuable records.

If you have questions or would like further clarification, please contact us at recmgt@uw.edu. For a list of records that can be destroyed/deleted as soon as they have served their reference purpose, see Materials That May Be Disposed of Without a Specific Retention Period.

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