Records custodian retiring an obsolete tender package
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01 / DECISION

Retain by authority, then sanitize by verified method

Keeping every bid forever increases exposure; deleting a locker entry does not prove the underlying media is sanitized. Retention and disposal must follow the contract, issuing authority, legal holds, public-record obligations and organizational policy.

Practical scenario

An unsuccessful municipal bid reaches the end of the contractor’s approved retention period. The records owner confirms no dispute, audit or legal hold applies, documents the authorized disposition and uses a sanitization method suited to the storage media.

02 / PROCEDURE

Run a verifiable bid workflow

  1. 01Identify the controlling retention sources before setting a date.
  2. 02Apply legal, audit, protest and contract holds before routine disposal.
  3. 03Separate records that require continued retention from working duplicates.
  4. 04Use an approved sanitization or destruction method appropriate to the media and sensitivity.
  5. 05Record authorization, method, verifier and disposition evidence.
03 / EVIDENCE

Leave a record another reviewer can follow

Keep the authority, record class, start event, retention period, hold review, disposition approval, media, sanitization method and verification evidence.

Pause and review when

  • A user assumes emptying the recycle bin sanitizes every copy.
  • Backup, synchronization and removable-media copies are missing from the disposal scope.
  • A retention date is copied from another jurisdiction without validation.
04 / BOUNDARY

Protection does not replace procurement authority

Does not replace provider permissions, guaranteed backup, password recovery or enterprise identity management. The solicitation, municipality, contract and approved organizational controls determine the actual process.

05 / QUESTIONS

Resolve these before acting

Does deleting an encrypted locker sanitize the drive?

Not necessarily. Sanitization depends on the media, encryption implementation, key handling and approved method.

Can this site provide the correct municipal retention period?

No. Confirm the issuing authority, contract, jurisdiction and legal requirements.

PRIMARY REFERENCES

Sources for this decision

Links support the question on this page and do not imply endorsement. The issuing authority, solicitation, contract, policy, law and qualified advice control the actual bid.