What PHMC actually requires
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) sets retention schedules for every county-government record class — deeds, minutes, vital statistics, court records — and approves the formats in which permanent records may be kept.
For permanent records, PHMC accepts paper, microfilm meeting ANSI/AIIM standards, or a digital copy backed by archival microfilm. Pure digital-only is rarely accepted for the permanent retention tier.
PHMC compliance is verified during state audits and during merger/consolidation events. A failed records audit can hold up county budgets and bond issuances.
The four PHMC record tiers
- Permanent — never destroyed; archival storage required
- Long-term (20+ years) — secure storage, regular condition checks
- Medium-term (5–20 years) — standard records storage
- Short-term (under 5 years) — destroy on schedule with log
How counties stay compliant without more storage
The most common path: scan permanent records, generate PHMC-grade archival microfilm from the scans, and store the microfilm in environmentally controlled vaults. The original paper can then be destroyed under PHMC schedule, freeing courthouse space.
Reynolds operates a PHMC-grade microfilm production lab in Bethlehem, PA. We've delivered compliant output to 30+ Pennsylvania counties.
Common PHMC audit findings
- Missing destruction certificates for short-term records
- Microfilm produced outside ANSI/AIIM density tolerances
- Permanent records stored in non-archival paper folders
- Digital images without verified archival backup
Resources
Downloads referenced in this guide.
- PDFPHMC County Records Reference Guide (PDF)Quick-reference table of PHMC retention tiers by record class.