Corporate Records Management Branch

2.10 Physical Format Designations

All government records, regardless of physical format, must be classified under either an ARCS or an ORCS secondary number.  Different physical format versions are all part of a single record series if the information content remains the same, with only the physical format varying.  For example, there may be a paper (or "hardcopy") version and a microfilm version of the same series.

When administrative records are held in several different physical formats each version is identified and scheduled under the same ARCS secondary, unless the versions do not contain identical information, or retention schedules vary.  In those cases, the physical formats may have separate secondaries, with the format identified in the secondary title rather than in a qualifier.  The physical format designation is expressed as a qualifier under the secondary title.  Retention periods are specified for each physical format designation, unless the primary's default retention periods apply.  In the sample primary, the Extraterrestrial Registration System (secondary -30) is identified in a qualifier as an electronic database.

Some physical format designations used in ARCS and ORCS are: paper, microfilm, microfiche, computer output microfilm (COM), computer output microfiche (COMfiche), optical disk, electronic database, electronic records.

A physical format designation is not used for designating records in "special media" (sound recordings, audio-visual materials, maps, photographs, etc.).  Information about special media is conveyed, instead, in an "(includes)" qualifier or in the paragraph of the scope note beginning "Includes" or "Records types include".  All the records in a file are covered by the same retention schedule, regardless of media.  Related information in an electronic database is subject to the same schedule; for example, in the sample primary, registration in formation in the ERS (secondary -30) concerning a specific extraterrestrial can be purged when the relevant extraterrestrial registrant case file (under secondary -20) becomes inactive.

Vital Records 2.11 Flags

Vital records are those containing information essential to the functioning of government during and after a disaster, and essential for preserving the rights of citizens (see glossary for more detailed definition).

In the sample primary, the Extraterrestrial Registration System (secondary -30) is flagged as a vital record.