Let’s Go Shopping with the 12 Local Retention Schedules

Declaring compliance with local government retention schedules is a lot like grocery shopping. Confused? Let me explain.

However you look at it, every local government must declare compliance with a selection from TSLAC’s 12 local government retention schedules using either the SLR 512 (for elected officials) or SLR 508 (for everyone else). TSLAC has recommended schedules for common entity types, but just like every household needs different food in the pantry, each local government needs a different combination of local schedules to cover the functions and services they provide.

Before you decide what to put in your shopping cart, let’s dive into the nutrition facts for each of the schedules:

Schedule check boxes from the SLR 508 form.

Feeling lost? Check out Local Government Retention Schedules 101 for a crash course.

Jump to the Schedule Overviews Below

Schedule CC County Clerks	Schedule DC District Clerks	Schedule EL Elections	Schedule GR General Records
Schedule HR Public Health	Schedule JC Junior Colleges	Schedule LC Justice and Municipal Courts	Schedule PS Public Safety
Schedule PW Public Works	Schedule SD School Districts	Schedule TX Taxation	Schedule UT Utility Services

Local Schedule GR: General Records

Ingredients: Common operational records used by every local government, like open meetings, finance, and personnel.

Audience: Every local government creates, receives, and maintains records from Local Schedule GR.

Caution: A good rule of thumb is to check other schedules for specific series applicable to your local government before looking at Schedule GR. Records of certain projects or activities may need to be retained in more specific series.

Series Highlight: Every local government creates general correspondence records! Correspondence about certain projects or activities may need to be retained in a more specific series.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
*GR1000-26b	CORRESPONDENCE, INTERNAL MEMORANDA, AND SUBJECT FILES	General – Incoming/outgoing and internal correspondence pertaining to the regular operation of the policies, programs, services, or projects of a local government. May also include subject files, which are collections of correspondence, memos and printed materials on various individuals, activities, and topics.	2 years.	Retention Note: Records management officers should use caution before disposal of these records to ensure the records should not be classified under administrative correspondence (GR1000-26a).

Local Schedule CC: County Clerks

Ingredients: Records of the many unique functions of county clerks in Texas.

Audience: Only county clerks should use Schedule CC.

Did you know? Schedule CC is the longest of the local government schedules, clocking in at 84 pages.

Series Highlight: County clerks are the custodians of many fascinating historical records!

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
CC1425-07	COTTON GINNERS RECORD	Affidavits of cotton ginners pledging to report the number of bales ginned to the state and stub books or registers of certificates issued for receipt of affidavits.	PERMANENT.

Local Schedule DC: District Clerks

Ingredients: Records of district court, including civil/criminal cases, jury selection, naturalization, and other administrative functions.

Audience: Only district clerks should use Schedule DC.

Series Highlight: District clerks are responsible for reports of estray (stray livestock or fowl) under the Texas Agriculture Code.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
DC2325-03	ESTRAY RECORD	Recorded affidavits and bonds of takers-up of estrayed animals, affidavits of appraisal of the animals, and any accompanying reports of the death of estrays or affidavits of ownership of estrays, recorded with the district clerk under the Stock Law of 1874.	PERMANENT.

Local Schedule EL: Elections

Ingredients: Records of elections (like ballots and voting machines), candidacy (candidacy applications, campaign finance), and voter registration (registration certificates, lists of registered voters).

Audience: Local government entities that create, receive, or maintain records of elections or voter administration should use Schedule EL. It’s also binding upon county clerks, county tax assessor-collectors, county election administrators, and election officials in other local governments. You can find more details about applicability in the retention note (b) at the beginning of Schedule EL.

Series Highlight: This series covers changes to precincts for state representatives, as well as county commissioner and justice precincts.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
EL3100-08a	PRECINCT BOUNDARY RECORDS	Notices of changes to precinct boundaries, including those filed with and maintained by voter registrars.	Effective date of change + 1 year.	By law – Election Code, Section 42.036(g), for those maintained by issuing authority in counties with a population of one million or more; by authority of this schedule for those in all other counties and for those maintained by voter registrars.

Local Schedule HR: Public Health

Ingredients: Records of public health services, including health inspections, animal control, and volunteer programs. Schedule HR also has records of local health authorities and local public hospitals.

Audience: Schedule HR applies to local governments that operate public health services, including municipalities and counties with health departments, animal control services, or animal shelters, as well as public health districts, hospital districts, and hospital authorities.

A different kind of HR: The title of this schedule is easy to confuse with Human Resources. As a reminder, personnel and payroll records are found in Section 3 of Schedule GR.

Series Highlight: Local governments that conduct inspections of restaurants and other establishments should use Schedule HR.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
HR4775-27	SANITARY EVALUATION REPORTS	Reports of sanitary inspections carried out by local health authority personnel on restaurants, taverns, dairies, food markets, hotels, motels, nursing homes, day care centers, campgrounds, vending machines, and other facilities or equipment as required by state law or regulation or by local ordinance.	3 years.

Local Schedule JC: Public Junior Colleges

Ingredients: Records of the activities of public junior colleges and college districts, from enrollment to graduation.

Audience: With a few exceptions, only public junior colleges and college districts should use Schedule JC.

Borrowed Material: Most records series on Schedule JC have counterparts for public school districts on Schedule SD or state univerities on the University Records Retention Schedule (URRS).

State universities follow the retention requirements of state agencies, not local governments.

Series Highlight: Circulation records look similar on Schedule JC, Schedule SD, and the URRS!

Schedule JC – Public Junior Colleges:

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
*JC3925-03	CIRCULATION RECORDS	Records documenting the circulation of library materials to individual borrowers.	AV.

Schedule SD – School Districts:

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
*SD3650-03	CIRCULATION RECORDS	Records documenting the circulation of library materials to individual borrowers.	AV.

The URRS – State Universities:

Record Series Item No. (RSIN)	Record Series Title	Record Series Description	Retention Period	Remarks
16.2.001	Circulation Records	Records documenting the borrowing of circulating library materials or equipment by qualified patrons (including courtesy and guest borrowers). May include but not limited to: the name and identification of the borrower; material due dates; and overdue item notations.	AC	AC = Transaction is completed. See RSIN 4.1.009 for fines. The disposal of circulation records need not be documented through destruction authorizations (RSIN 1.2.001), or in records disposition logs (RSIN 1.2.010).

Local Schedule LC: Justice and Municipal Courts

Ingredients: Records of justice and municipal courts, including civil and criminal cases, and administrative court records. Schedule LC also includes vital statistics records if local registrar duties are assumed by justices of the peace or municipal clerks or secretaries.

Audience: Justices of the peace and municipalities that operate municipal courts should use Schedule LC.

Applicability: County clerks assuming local registrar duties should not use Schedule LC; vital statistics records series have counterparts on Schedule CC.

Series Highlight: Justice and municipal courts often adjudicate parking and pedestrian tickets.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
*LC2350-05	PARKING AND PEDESTRIAN VIOLATION TICKETS	Parking or pedestrian violation tickets that have been cleared by payment, dismissal, or other action.	6 months.	Retention Note: It is an exception to the 6-month retention period that if the tickets are used as vouchers for direct posting to receipt journals or ledgers, the tickets must be retained for FE + 3 years.

Local Schedule PS: Public Safety

Ingredients: Records of the investigation and prosecution of crimes, as well as the operation and administration of public safety services like firefighting and EMS.

Audience: Local governments operating any public safety services should adopt Schedule PS. Specifically, this includes law enforcement, firefighting, and EMS; county medical examiners; probation departments; and county, district, and criminal district attorneys.

Series Highlight: While most retention periods serve as minimums, statements and reports of handgun sales must be destroyed by the expiration of their retention period.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
*PS4175-17a	STATEMENTS AND REPORTS OF HANDGUN SALES	Statements and any associated documentation of those to whom the sale, transfer, or delivery of a handgun would not violate federal or state law.	Must be destroyed within 20 business days from the date the statement was signed.	By law – 18 USC. §922(s)(6)(B)(i).

Local Schedule PW: Public Works

Ingredients: Records of public works, from airports to zoos and beyond. Some common subjects include road and street maintenance, parks and recreation, and building permits.

Audience: Most municipalities and counties create or receive at least a few records on Schedule PW. It should also be used by special districts or other government entities providing services.

Series Highlight: Many municipalities and counties maintain records of street names and house numbers, which must be kept permanently.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
PW5275-06	STREET NAME AND HOUSE NUMBER FILES	Records relating to street dedications, street closings, the assignment and alteration of street names and house numbers, and similar records that provide official control of the naming and numbering of streets and roads.	PERMANENT.

Local Schedule SD: School Districts

Ingredients: Records of public school district administration, campus operations, and individual classes, faculty, and students.

Audience: Only independent school districts (ISDs and CISDs), education service centers, charter schools, educational co-ops, and other local education agencies should use Schedule SD.

Series Highlight: Documentation of school bus routes is superseded when the route is discontinued or updated, or when descriptions are rewritten.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
SD3500-06	ROUTE DESCRIPTIONS	A turn-by-turn accounting for each approved route, specifying road designations and corresponding mileages.	US + 3 years.

Local Schedule TX: Property Taxation

Ingredients: Records of property appraisal; property tax collection; vehicle, boat, and liquor licensing; occupation taxes, and duties of county tax assessor-collectors.

Audience: County tax assessor-collectors and all local taxing units should use Schedule TX.

Series Highlight: Although census records are no longer created or received by tax assessor-collectors, any in existence must be retained permanently.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
TX4000-01	CENSUS RECORDS		PERMANENT.	Obsolete record. Retention Note: County tax assessor-collectors were responsible for conducting censuses of school-age children from 1854 to 1885. They also, on an irregular basis, conducted agricultural censuses and censuses of all persons within households from the mid to late 19th century. All census records must be retained PERMANENTLY for historical reasons.

Local Schedule UT: Utilities

Ingredients: Records of water, wastewater, solid waste, electric, gas, and other special utility services operated by local governments.

Audience: Schedule UT is most frequently adopted by municipalities, counties, and special-purpose districts and authorities, but it should be used by any local government operating utility services.

Series Highlight: TSLAC’s media-neutral schedules mean that customer account histories are retained the same whether they’re on paper, a spreadsheet, or in a database.

Record No.	Record Title	Description	Retention Period	Remarks
UT5000-05	CUSTOMER ACCOUNT HISTORIES	Account history of each customer of a utility, including all information (name, address, account number, etc.) necessary to provide and bill for services.	Close of account + 2 years.

Your Shopping List

Now it’s your turn! When you go shopping on the Declaration of Compliance, remember: what do you need in your pantry?

Everybody uses Schedule GR.
These schedules should only be adopted by specific entities:
- Schedule CC (county clerks)
- Schedule DC (district clerks)
- Schedule JC (junior colleges)
- Schedule LC (justices of the peace and municipalities with municipal courts)
- Schedule SD (school districts, charter schools, and ESCs)
These schedules may be adopted by any local government based on services provided:
- Schedule EL (elections and voter registration)
- Schedule HR (public health)
- Schedule PS (public safety)
- Schedule PW (public works)
- Schedule TX (appraisal and tax collection)
- Schedule UT (government-owned utilities)

Local governments are encouraged to customize internal retention schedules, but must always adhere to the minimum requirements of TSLAC’s local schedules. Thus, a declaration of compliance is still required, even with a custom schedule. If you have not filed a Declaration of Compliance, check out our compliance FAQ and forms.

We all get lost in the grocery store sometimes. Don’t worry, you have a built-in tour guide! If you need help, contact the analyst for your county.