PHMC Records Retention for Pennsylvania Counties: A 2026 Compliance Checklist

Pennsylvania counties operate under one of the most structured records-management frameworks in the country. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), through the County Records Committee, sets the retention and disposition schedules that govern how long county offices must keep records and when they may dispose of them. For records managers and county clerks, staying aligned with these schedules is the basis of an audit-ready office.

What PHMC requires

Under the County Records Act, county records may be retained and disposed of only according to schedules approved by the County Records Committee. Each record series — from deeds and court filings to financial and personnel records — carries a defined minimum retention period. Disposing of records outside an approved schedule, or without documented authorization, exposes the county to compliance findings. The schedules are revised periodically, which is why an annual review is the practical baseline.

A 2026 review checklist

Records managers preparing for the year should confirm the following:

• Your office is working from the current County Records Manual schedules, not a superseded version.
• Every active record series maps to an approved schedule with a documented retention period.
• Disposition of eligible records is authorized and logged, with a clear chain of custody.
• Permanent and archival records are stored in conditions appropriate to their medium, including microfilm and digitized formats.
• Retrieval times meet the expectations of an audit or a Right-to-Know request.

Where storage and digitization fit

Retention compliance is as much a storage question as a policy one. Records that must be kept for decades — or permanently — need to be stored in conditions that protect them and retrieved without delay when requested. This is where high-density shelving, climate-appropriate storage, and document digitization intersect with compliance: a schedule is only as effective as a county's ability to produce the right record, in good condition, on demand.

Reynolds Business Systems has worked with Pennsylvania county offices for more than five decades, combining records-management expertise with the storage and scanning infrastructure that keeps retention schedules enforceable in practice. If your office is reviewing its retention posture for 2026, the starting point is a clear inventory mapped to current PHMC schedules.