RE: Retention Schedule for the Records of Your Judicial District Bar.
As a state agency, the North Carolina State Bar must comply with the provisions regarding records retention in Chapters 121 (Archives and History) and 132 (Public Records) of the General Statutes. These laws mandate that public records be retained and then disposed of in accordance with a schedule approved by and on record with the Archives and Records Section of the North Carolina Division of Historical Resources.
As subdivisions of the North Carolina State Bar, district bars must comply with the applicable record retention item (Item 3241) from the State Bar’s approved record retention schedule which appears at the bottom of this page. Please note that the item includes judicial district bar records in the hands of the State Bar as well as those in the possession of the officers and/or staff of the various judicial district bars.
Please review the description of district bar documents in Item 3241 and let us know if additional documents should be included. Currently the retention schedule allows a judicial district bar to destroy records “in office” when their administrative value has ended. We have been notified that we must soon revise the retention schedule to designate a specific retention period prior to record destruction. We anticipate that we will ask for a one-year time period. If you believe that the time period should be longer, please let us know. Note that the retention schedule does not require the State Bar or district bars to destroy records but it allows destruction as long as the retention time period is observed.
Please send your inquiries and comments to Martha Fletcher who manages record retention for the State Bar. Martha can be reached at 919/828-4620 or mfletcher@ncbar.gov.
ITEM 3241. DISTRICT BAR FILE.
Records concerning district bars. File includes bylaws, committee and officer lists, correspondence, invitations, meeting notices, requests for opinions, reports, and other related records.
DISPOSITION INSTRUCTIONS: Destroy in office when administrative value ends.