Formal Record Hold Notice Form

This litigation hold notice form is a practical tool that businesses and United States government entities use to preserve records when there is pending litigation, an audit, or an enforcement action. Legal counsel typically initiates the process, but a records officer, contracting officer, or other official may also be responsible. In a federal agency context, records management must follow applicable federal laws, regulations, recordkeeping requirements, and established records schedules in accordance with federal government standards.

The form captures the current date, the records custodian's name and address, the requester, and a case ID referred to as a contract reference number. It includes a statement of potentially relevant information, instructions for employees, and requires a signed acknowledgement. The process directs personnel to identify data across information systems and physical locations, including local workstations or laptops, personal shares on servers, home computers or smart phones, email journals, backups and archives, removable storage media, and department files on and off-site. Other forms, such as an investigation form, can be used to submit details so the office can verify what must be retained.

Most records-whether in electronic form or on paper-must be preserved to maintain integrity and security. Certain records, like personal papers, may be exempt, but only under defined rules. A record group and records schedule determine the retention period, final disposition, and transfer or disposal.

For federal records, agencies may work with the General Services Administration and federal records centers. Disposal is not authorized until the hold is lifted in accordance with the law. This measure helps control costs, protect government property, and ensure compliance.

Agencies and organizations should plan for implementation, training, and communication so members know their responsibilities. Administrative provisions may be amended as circumstances change, and a report or conference may be sought to resolve challenges. Noncompliance risks penalties.

Common triggers include a Fair Labor Standards Act wage claim, a procurement lawsuit involving a contractor and a contracting officer on behalf of an agency, employment disputes, or an acquisition-related investigation. In each example, records are obtained, preserved, and retained for the period required by schedule and program needs.

Proposal Kit supports this work by helping teams create and assemble structured documents, generate automated line-item quoting for related budgets, and use its AI Writer to develop supporting materials like policies and procedures. Its extensive template library and ease of use help organizations establish consistent documentation across operations.

Additional insight: In agencies and companies employing federal employees or working with a federal agency, a hold notice must align with collective bargaining agreements, acceptable employee behavior policies, and Subchapter B records management rules. Leaders should establish a clear structure for response, defining each position's responsibility and the tasks required to preserve electronic records and paper files at every physical location and within facilities. The form can include a form number, page count, and fields that identify the location where materials are stored, who has custody and access, and whether items are maintained electronically.

Managers should authorize eligible staff to secure accounts and devices and document any amendments to instructions. Good-faith attempt standards apply; at a minimum, preservation must continue until final disposition under the records schedule, which may require retention for one year or longer. When litigation concerns pay, wages, or payment disputes, the employer must consider fiscal implications, funding, budget constraints, and commitments approved by Congress. Site visit checklists can help confirm maintenance of other types of records, including those created during program development or system creation. Agreements with contractors and internal agreement templates should note when instructions may alter routine disposal.

Using the Proposal Kit, teams can accelerate the establishment and creation of a consistent hold package. Templates help assemble fields for case ID, physical location details, and signature acknowledgements, and can include an internal form number. The AI Writer can write supporting policies, employee communications, and checklists tailored to an agency's operations.

Automated line-item quoting supports planning for budget, training, and IT maintenance needs associated with preservation. Proposal Kit's extensive library makes it easier to produce related documents for audits, investigations, and other types of requests, ensuring a minimum acceptable standard of documentation without adding complexity to everyday operations.

Further insight: Organizations benefit from establishing a governance playbook that defines how a hold is opened, expanded, and released. This includes a RACI-style matrix for legal, IT, HR, finance, and program offices; an escalation ladder for urgent issues; and checkpoints to pause any auto-deletion jobs in email, collaboration suites, backups, and archives. Technical topics should cover immutable backups, encryption key custody, and how metadata is preserved so searches remain reliable.

Operational topics include naming conventions, version control for instructions, and a clear audit trail showing when custodians were notified, when access controls changed, and when final disposition resumed after the release. A short post-matter review helps reduce future cost by refining data maps and defensible deletion rules without altering a hold that remains active.

Proposal Kit can streamline establishing this documentation set by supplying structured templates for governance charters, notification language, release notices, and after-action summaries. Teams can adapt the templates to align with internal processes, improving consistency while keeping effort focused on the matter itself.

How do you write a Formal Record Hold Notice Form document? - The Narrative

How to Build a Legal Contract with Proposal Kit

This video illustrates how to create a legal contract using the Proposal Pack Wizard software. It also shows how to create a proposal with an invoice and contract at the same time.