Category: Roles and Governance

Records Manager

Also known as: Records and Information Manager, RIM Professional

Simply put

A records manager is the professional responsible for overseeing how an organization creates, stores, uses, and eventually disposes of its records. Their work helps ensure that records with ongoing value are kept and controlled properly, while records that no longer serve a purpose are disposed of according to policy. Records managers are found across many types of organizations, both public and private.

Formal definition

A records manager is the individual accountable for the practice of records management within an organization, governing the creation, receipt, capture, classification, storage, use, access, and disposition of records regardless of format (digital or physical). The role typically encompasses establishing and applying retention and disposition policies so that records of continuing value are maintained and controlled, while records lacking further value are disposed of in a defensible manner. This role is distinct from broader information governance functions and is often supported by professional certification through bodies such as the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM); specific duties and scope vary by organization, sector, and jurisdiction.

Why it matters

The records manager role exists because organizations, both public and private, generate large volumes of records that must be controlled across their lifecycle. Without a designated professional accountable for this work, records of continuing value may be lost or become unreliable, while records that no longer serve any purpose may be retained indefinitely, adding cost and risk. The records manager helps ensure that records with value are maintained and controlled, and that records lacking further value are disposed of in a defensible manner according to policy.

The distinction the role protects is subtle but consequential. Records management concerns the control of records as evidence of organizational activity, and it is distinct from broader information governance functions that span policy, risk, privacy, security, and value. A records manager typically provides the operational discipline that keeps recordkeeping consistent regardless of whether records are digital or physical, and regardless of the format in which they were created or received. Where this discipline is absent, an organization may struggle to demonstrate the authenticity, reliability, and integrity that distinguish an authoritative record from a mere copy, draft, or transitory information.

Because specific duties, scope, and legal obligations vary by organization, sector, and jurisdiction, the value of a competent records manager often lies in translating general recordkeeping principles into practices that fit local requirements. Professional certification, such as that offered through the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM), is one recognized signal of the competencies expected of practitioners, though it is not a universal requirement.

Who it's relevant to

Records and information management professionals

Those working directly in the field, sometimes titled records and information manager or RIM professional, are the primary holders of this role. Certification through bodies such as the ICRM is one recognized way practitioners demonstrate competency, though requirements and expectations vary by employer and jurisdiction.

Information governance officers

Because records management is distinct from, but overlaps with, the broader information governance framework, governance officers rely on records managers for the operational control of records across their lifecycle. Understanding where the two functions diverge helps clarify accountability for policy, risk, and disposition decisions.

Compliance and risk leads

The defensible retention and disposition of records supports an organization's ability to meet obligations that typically differ by sector and jurisdiction. Compliance and risk staff often work alongside records managers to ensure records of value are maintained and controlled while records lacking value are disposed of according to policy.

Archivists and preservation staff

Where disposition includes transfer or permanent preservation rather than destruction, records managers and archivists intersect. Distinguishing the point at which records with continuing value move toward archival control is central to coordinating these roles.

Organizational leadership across public and private sectors

Records managers are found in all types of organizations. Leaders who define reporting lines, scope, and resourcing for the role shape how effectively records are controlled, though the specific duties assigned will depend on organizational structure, sector, and jurisdiction.

Inside Records Manager

Lifecycle oversight

Responsibility for records across their lifecycle, including creation or capture, classification, retention, and disposition, ensuring controls are applied at each stage rather than at a single point in time.

Classification and metadata management

Establishing and maintaining classification schemes and metadata so that records can be identified, contextualized, retrieved, and managed consistently. The precise structures used typically depend on organizational policy and applicable standards.

Retention and disposition administration

Developing and applying retention schedules and disposition decisions, recognizing that disposition may result in destruction, transfer, or permanent preservation. Retention is not the same as archiving, and disposition is not synonymous with destruction.

Recordkeeping quality controls

Working to preserve the properties that make something a record, commonly described as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, and distinguishing authoritative records from copies, drafts, and transitory information.

Compliance and legal support

Supporting obligations such as legal holds, statutory retention requirements, freedom of information, and privacy responsibilities. The specific requirements depend on jurisdiction and sector and are often shared with legal, compliance, and privacy functions.

Policy and procedure development

Drafting, maintaining, and promoting recordkeeping policies and procedures, often within a broader information governance framework that spans risk, privacy, security, and information value.

System and standards alignment

Advising on or overseeing recordkeeping systems and their alignment with recognized standards such as ISO 15489 and related management-system standards, whose general purpose is to guide consistent, accountable recordkeeping practice.

Common questions

Answers to the questions practitioners most commonly ask about Records Manager.

Is a records manager the same as an information governance officer?

Not usually, though the roles overlap and are sometimes combined in smaller organizations. A records manager typically focuses on controlling records as evidence of activity across their lifecycle, including capture, classification, retention, and disposition. Information governance is generally a broader accountability framework spanning policy, risk, privacy, security, and the value of information more widely. In many organizations a records manager operates within, and contributes to, an information governance program rather than owning the whole of it, but the division of responsibilities depends on organizational structure and policy.

Does a records manager mainly handle document management software and filing systems?

That is a common but narrow view. While a records manager often works with document and records management systems, the role is not reducible to administering software or physical filing. Records management concerns the control of records as authoritative evidence, which involves classification, retention scheduling, disposition decisions, and safeguarding properties such as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. Document management systems may handle content that is not managed as a record at all, so tool administration is typically one supporting activity among several rather than the core purpose of the role.

How does a records manager typically approach setting retention periods?

Retention periods are generally established through retention schedules that reflect legal, regulatory, operational, and historical value considerations. Because statutory retention requirements vary by jurisdiction and sector, a records manager often works with legal, compliance, and business stakeholders to identify applicable obligations. It is worth noting that retention is not the same as archiving, and the end of a retention period leads to a disposition decision, which may involve transfer, permanent preservation, or destruction depending on organizational policy and the value of the records.

What role does a records manager play in applying a legal hold?

A records manager commonly helps implement legal holds by suspending scheduled disposition for records that may be relevant to anticipated or ongoing litigation, investigation, or similar proceedings. The specific triggers, scope, and obligations for holds depend on jurisdiction, sector, and the guidance of legal counsel, so the records manager typically acts in coordination with legal advisers rather than determining the legal basis independently. The practical contribution often includes identifying affected records, preventing their destruction, and documenting that the hold has been applied and later released.

How can a records manager help distinguish authoritative records from copies and transitory information?

A records manager can establish criteria and guidance that help staff identify which items should be captured and managed as authoritative records, as distinct from copies, drafts, or transitory information that may not warrant the same controls. This often involves defining what makes something a record in the organizational context, considering properties such as authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, and clarifying how the authoritative version is designated. The precise treatment of copies and transitory material typically depends on organizational policy and any applicable regulatory requirements.

How does a records manager typically support disposition decisions across the lifecycle?

A records manager generally oversees disposition as a controlled stage rather than an automatic deletion. This involves applying retention schedules, confirming that no legal holds or other constraints apply, and then carrying out the appropriate disposition action, which may include transfer to another body, permanent preservation, or destruction. Because disposition is not synonymous with destruction, the records manager often documents the basis and authorization for each decision so that the process remains defensible and consistent with organizational policy and any relevant jurisdictional requirements.

Common misconceptions

A records manager is essentially the same as an IT or document management administrator who handles electronic files.

The records manager's concern is the control of records as evidence of activity across their lifecycle, focusing on authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability. Document and data management systems may support this work, but they address information handling more broadly and do not, on their own, constitute records management.

The records manager's main job is to delete or destroy records once retention periods lapse.

Disposition is broader than destruction and may include transfer or permanent preservation. A records manager administers disposition decisions according to retention schedules and applicable requirements, and destruction is only one of several possible outcomes.

A records manager is responsible for the whole of information governance in an organization.

Records management concerns records as evidence across their lifecycle, whereas information governance is a broader accountability framework spanning policy, risk, privacy, security, and value. The two overlap, but a records manager typically contributes to, rather than owns, the wider governance framework, and responsibilities often depend on organizational structure.

Best practices

Maintain retention schedules that clearly distinguish retention from disposition, and specify for each class whether disposition results in destruction, transfer, or permanent preservation.

Apply consistent classification and metadata at the point of creation or capture so that records remain identifiable, retrievable, and manageable throughout their lifecycle.

Protect the qualities that make something a record by putting controls in place to support authenticity, reliability, integrity, and usability, and by clearly distinguishing authoritative records from copies, drafts, and transitory information.

Coordinate with legal, compliance, and privacy functions on legal holds, statutory retention, freedom of information, and privacy obligations, recognizing that these requirements depend on jurisdiction and sector.

Align recordkeeping policies and systems with recognized standards such as ISO 15489 and related management-system standards, adapting them to organizational policy rather than assuming a single approach fits all contexts.

Situate records management within the wider information governance framework, clarifying where responsibilities are shared with governance, risk, security, and other functions.