As a DOE contractor employee, you might hear the term “federal record” quite often in your work with DOE. Federal records apply to us. But what does it truly mean? Simply put, a federal record is any document or item that a federal agency creates or receives and controls. This applies to records that help the government do its work and provide public services.
These records come in various forms. They can include basic information like your name, address, birthday, and Social Security number. But they also cover a much wider range of information. Here are some examples from DOE of what are and are not records:
IS a federal record
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Is NOT a federal record
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According to DOE, to be a federal record, the information must meet these three tests:
- Created or received by a federal agency in the course of official business
- Recorded information — any format, any medium (paper, email, video, database, photo, etc.)
- Preserved or appropriate for preservation as evidence of government activity or for its informational value
If you answer “Yes” to the following question, you are dealing with a federal record: “Does this document what my organization did, decided, or is responsible for?”
