Procedures for the transfer of digital government records
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1. Effective date
These procedures were approved by the Director General of the Government Record Branch at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and take effect on 22 July 2024.
2. Application
These procedures apply to all Government of Canada (GC) institutions which are subject to the Library and Archives of Canada Act (LAC Act).
These procedures are applied in accordance with sections 12 and 13 of the LAC Act and are to be used in the transfer of digital archival government records to LAC when their retention periods have expired.
These procedures fall under LAC's Appraisal and Acquisition Policy Framework (2016), the Directive on Disposition Authorizations (2016), the Operational standard for the use of disposition authorizations (2015), and the Government records disposition program. They must be interpreted along with the associated policies (see Appendix B: Related documents).
These procedures do not apply to physical and analog government records.
These procedures complement the Procedures for the transfer of physical and analog government records, the Guidelines on File Formats for Transferring Information Resources of Enduring Value (2014), and the Operational Standard for Digital Archival Records' Metadata (2023). These procedures also apply to government records in the office of a minister but do not apply to other types of records found in the office of a minister. These procedures must be applied alongside the Guidelines on Managing Records in a Minister's Office (2020).
These procedures, along with the Procedures for the transfer of physical and analog government records, replace the Procedures for the Transfer of Unpublished Information Resources of Continuing Value from Government of Canada Institutions to Library and Archives Canada (2014).
3. Definitions
- Digital record (Document numérique)
- A record in digital (i.e., binary) form. A digital record may be a single digital object, or it may consist of a series of interrelated, nested, or linked digital objects.
- Government institution (Institution fédérale)
- Has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act or in section 3 of the Privacy Act, or means an institution designated by the Governor in Council.
- Government record (Document fédéral)
- A record that is under the control of a government institution.
- Record (Document)
- Means any documentary material other than a publication, regardless of medium or form.
See Appendix A for definitions of other terms used in these procedures.
4. Context
Under the LAC Act, LAC is mandated to be the permanent repository of government records that it determines to be of historical or archival value, a determination which it pursues in accordance with its Evaluation and Acquisition Policy Framework (2016).
These procedures enable GC institutions to fulfill their obligations to securely transfer digital archival records in accordance with the disposition authorizations issued to them by LAC.
5. Purpose
The purpose of these procedures is to facilitate the transfer of digital archival government records from GC institutions to LAC when their retention periods have expired.
These procedures describe the steps required for GC institutions to complete the transfer of their digital archival government records into the control and custody of LAC. They include instructions and recommendations to ensure the integrity of the records and their associated metadata for long-term preservation and access.
These procedures further enable LAC to manage government archival records received via transfer in accordance with its Access Policy Framework (2016) and Preservation Policy Framework (2022).
6. Requirements
It is strongly recommended that institutions consult with their assigned LAC archivist (hereafter, assigned archivist) throughout the transfer process, to prevent unnecessary or duplicated efforts and to reduce delays as part of preparing records for transfer. If the institution does not know their assigned archivist, they can contact the LAC Liaison Centre (centredeliaison-liaisoncentre@bac-lac.gc.ca), who will put them in touch with the appropriate person.
6.1 Criteria for transferring digital records to LAC
To transfer digital records to LAC, the institution must ensure that the records meet all the criteria listed below.
If the institution does not know how to achieve one of these criteria or if any of the criteria cannot be met, the institution must contact their assigned archivist to discuss the situation.
- 6.1.1
- The records are government records as defined in Appendix A.
- 6.1.2
- The institution has a valid disposition authorization in place issued by LAC.
- 6.1.3
- The records proposed for transfer are identified as archival under the institution's disposition authorization.
- 6.1.4
- The retention period for the records has expired.
- 6.1.5
- The transfer of the records does not contravene a rule or order of a court of tribunal or contravene an express provision in any other Act (e.g. Canadian International Trade Tribunal Act, Federal Court Rules, Access to Information Act, Privacy Act).
- 6.1.6
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Prior to transfer, the institution has ensured the records are:
Should there be any major changes to digital records and systems, including the migration of records to any new hardware environment, new operating environment, or new software; or significant addition or subtraction of data elements, the institution must notify LAC as per requirement 6.2 of the Operational Standard for the Protection of Digital Archival Records.
- 6.1.7
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Prior to transfer, the institution has ensured that the records are consolidated onto one or more of the following physical storage mediaFootnote 1 :
- external hard disk drives
- USB flash drives
Please note: When consolidating records onto physical storage media, it is crucial to maintain the original order of the records and their original metadata. For example, institutions should ensure that date-related metadata are not overwritten when consolidating digital records onto physical storage media. If assistance is need with this process, please contact your assigned archivist.
Institutions should segregate digital records onto separate physical storage media based on security classification. Specifically, records up to and including Protected B can be consolidated onto one physical storage media. Any Protected C, Secret, or Top Secret records should be consolidated onto their own physical storage media, and packed and/or protected in accordance with the RCMP guide GCPSG-007 Transport, Transmittal and Storage of Protected and Classified Material (2022) (PDF document).Footnote 2
Institutions must label the physical storage media used for the transfer, and list the storage media on the “Physical Carrier Inventory” tab of the Digital Transfer Assessment Form (available in the Request to transfer government records form).
Please note: If institutions have digital records on non-accepted physical storage media, please contact your assigned archivist as soon as possible.
- 6.1.8
- Prior to transfer, the institution must encrypt and package the storage media per Appendix G: Standard on Enterprise IT Service Common Configurations of Treasury Board Secretariat's Directive on Service and Digital.
- 6.1.9
- Prior to transfer, the institution has provided the necessary information about the records, as required in section 6.2.2 below, including required metadata as defined by the Operational Standard for Digital Archival Records' Metadata.
- 6.1.10
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Prior to transfer, the institution has reviewed any existing access restrictions on the information to be transferred to LAC, and the institution has removed as many access restrictions as is possible at the time of transfer.
If any of the criteria are not met, the institution must contact their assigned archivist to discuss the situation.
6.2 Completing the transfer request form
Government institutions must submit requests to transfer archival records to LAC using LAC's Request to transfer government records form. This online fillable form can be found on the LAC website under Services for the Government of Canada.
This section outlines all the information required to submit a transfer request.
Please note: It is not possible to save the online form with the intent of completing it later. Please make sure you have all the required information ready before you start.
If you have any questions or need help with the form, please contact the
Liaison Centre (centredeliaison-liaisoncentre@bac-lac.gc.ca) or the institution's assigned archivist.
6.2.1 Information about pick up or delivery of the records
The institution must provide the address where the records are located as well as the contact information of the person responsible for arranging the transfer of records to LAC.
In the National Capital Region (NCR)
LAC will arrange to pick up records that are located in the NCR (Ottawa, Gatineau and the surrounding area).
Outside the National Capital Region
If the records are located outside of the NCR, the institution is responsible for sending them to LAC by courier. See section 6.4 below for more details.
Please note: The institution must not send records until the transfer request has been approved by the institution's assigned archivist and the institution has been contacted by LAC's Physical Control Team.
Under certain circumstances, LAC may be able to pick up records in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor. Please consult your assigned archivist for more details.
6.2.2 Information about the records
LAC requires information about the records being transferred to confirm that the records are archival under the institution's disposition authorization, to ensure that appropriate preservation measures are taken, and to create descriptions that will make the records discoverable and accessible to researchers.
The institution is required to provide the following information about the records being proposed for transfer:
- The disposition authorization number under which the records are being transferred.
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The intellectual context of the records. This may include details such as:
- the business unit or program that created the records
- the date range during which the records were active
- the purpose and use of the records
- the organization of the records
- any relevant clauses of the disposition authorization
- any additional documentation required to read and understand the records (e.g. data dictionaries, file classification guides)
- A detailed inventory which, at minimum, follows the instructions provided in LAC's Inventory Template (available in the Request to transfer government records form).
- Each sheet within the Inventory Template indicates the mandatory fields as well as specific instructions for each media type.
- LAC may require that the institution include more information in the inventory than the minimum required.
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Please note: Inventories where the lists themselves contain classified or protected C information cannot be securely submitted through the web form. Please contact the institution's assigned archivist to arrange for an alternative method of submission for these inventories or lists.
- A Digital Transfer Assessment Form (available in the Request to transfer government records form), including an inventory of physical storage media included in the transfer.
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All metadata required by the Operational Standard for Digital Archival Records' Metadata.
- LAC may require that the institution include more metadata than the minimum required. The format and level of detail of the metadata may differ greatly depending on the nature of the records and how a given institution manages their digital records. Therefore, it is highly recommended to speak with your assigned archivist to ensure all required metadata is included in the transfer.
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Please note: Some of the required metadata might already be included in other required documentation, such as the Request to Transfer Government Records web form, the file inventory, or the Digital Transfer Assessment Form.
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The security categories for the records.
6.2.3 Terms and conditions
The institution must confirm in the “Request to transfer government records” web form that there are no legal or operational needs which prevent the records from being transferred to LAC.
The institution must confirm in the form that they understand that upon completion of the transfer, LAC becomes responsible for the permanent care and control over the records, including the administration of Access to Information and Privacy legislation.
6.2.4 After the request is submitted
The institution will receive an automatic confirmation email with the transfer request number (ex. TGR-FY23-123) after submitting the request.
A checklist of main steps and the essential criteria for transferring archival records to LAC can be found in Appendix C.
6.3 Review and approval by assigned archivist
After the institution submits the transfer request through the web form, the request is reviewed by the institution's assigned archivist.
The assigned archivist is responsible for:
- reviewing the submission
- consulting the institution if needed to address any issues or obtain further information
- approving or rejecting the request
6.3.1 Approved requests
The assigned archivist will approve requests that meet all the criteria from section 6.1 and 6.2 of this procedure.
After the assigned archivist has reviewed and approved the transfer request, an automatic email notification is sent to the requester that includes the transfer request number.
Please note: The approval of a transfer of digital records does not authorize the institution to dispose of any remaining copies of those records. LAC will inform the institution when they can dispose of all remaining copies in their custody. This occurs after LAC has taken custody and control of the records and ensured their long-term preservation. Please consult section 6.5 below for details.
6.3.2 Rejected requests
The assigned archivist will reject transfer requests that do not meet the mandatory requirements described in sections 6.1 and 6.2.
Before rejecting a request, the assigned archivist will contact the institution to discuss whether these issues can be addressed so that a transfer can take place. Examples of such issues could include an inventory without all the required metadata or physical carriers that do not meet LAC's requirements. The institution must provide the missing information and/or take the required actions so that the transfer meets LAC requirements. If the institution cannot meet LAC's requirements, the transfer will be rejected.
If the issues are resolved to LAC's satisfaction, the assigned archivist will then accept the transfer request.
After the assigned archivist has reviewed and rejected the transfer request, an automatic email notification is sent to the requester. This email will include the transfer request number.
Please note: The rejection of a request to transfer government records does not authorize the institution to destroy these records. The institution remains responsible for protecting these records and must find a way to resolve the issues identified to proceed with the transfer to LAC. The assigned archivist will contact the institution to address the reasons for rejection.
6.4 Pick up or delivery of transferred records
Once the transfer has been approved, the Physical Control team at LAC will contact the institution to arrange pick up or delivery of the records.
6.4.1 Pick up of records by LAC
LAC will pick up records within the NCR, and occasionally in the Quebec City – Toronto corridor.
The institution is responsible for:
The LAC Physical Control team is responsible for:
- coordinating a time and place for the pickup with the contact person provided
- picking up the records
- assigning a registration control number once the records are in LAC's custody
6.4.2 Delivery of records by the institution
If the records are outside the NCR, the institution must arrange for the records to be delivered to LAC.
The institution is responsible for:
LAC is responsible for:
- providing the shipping address
- providing the contact information where the institution must send the tracking number
- assigning a registration control number once the records are in LAC's custody
Please note: The shipping address and contact person for arranging delivery will only be shared after the transfer has been approved. The institution must not send records to LAC until the transfer has been approved and the institution has been contacted by the LAC Physical Control team.
6.5 Integration of transferred records into the LAC collection
After the physical storage media have been picked up or received by LAC, the institution will receive an automatic email to indicate that the transfer has been registered. This email will include registration control number (ex. 2021-0123) assigned by LAC.
Once LAC has integrated the material into its collection (see Appendix D for more details), the institution will receive an acquisition notification confirming the records have been preserved by LAC.
This notification confirms the institution can now dispose of any remaining copy of the transferred documents they would still have in they possession. Institutions can find transferred records in LAC's online catalogue by using the reference number (e.g. Branch Accession Number (BAN)) provided in the acquisition notification. Please note that staff from the institution will need departmental researcher status to access restricted records.
7. Roles and responsibilities
LAC is responsible for:
- providing advice and guidance on the application of these procedures
- designating appropriate staff to implement these procedures
- developing guidelines, tools, best practices, and services as required to support the application of these procedures
- confirming transfer requests meet all LAC requirements
- approving or rejecting transfer requests
- coordinating pickup or delivery of transferred records
Institutions are responsible for:
- adhering to these procedures
- designating appropriate staff to implement these procedures
- notifying and consulting with LAC on any matters that may impede regular transfers of archival government records, or adherence to these procedures
- ensuring transfers meet all LAC requirements
- coordinating pickup or delivery of transferred records
8. Monitoring, evaluation and review
The LAC business area responsible for acquisitions of government archival records will monitor and evaluate these procedures every three years or as required, beginning on the effective date. LAC will analyze progress, effectiveness, and attainment of objectives, and will identify potential improvements to activities associated with the acquisition of physical and analog government archival records.
9. Consequences
Non-compliance with these procedures may result in:
- suspension by LAC of the institution's disposition authorization
- delayed transfers
- poor discoverability of LAC's digital archival holdings
10. Information
If you have any questions about this procedure, please contact:
Appendix A: Definitions
- Accession (Acquisition)
- A group of records in LAC's holdings from the same entity (source), with the same place of origin or history (provenance), accepted all at once.
- Acquisition (Acquisition)
- Acquisition is the process of acquiring documentary heritage of historical or archival value. Acquisition takes place when a decision is made to take control of documentary heritage for the purpose of preserving it for use by future generations.
- Aggregation (Regroupement)
- A grouping of records (i.e., files, series) accumulated and organized to reflect the creator's activities.
- Acquisition notification (Notification d'acquisition)
- Communication sent by the assigned archivist to the transferring institution. This communication will confirm that LAC has taken custody and control (see definitions below) of the records, instruct institutions to dispose any remaining copies of the records from their systems, and includes the relevant reference number(s) which allow the institution to find and access transferred records through the public interface of LAC's website.
- Archival record (Document archivistique)
- A government record which has continuing usefulness or significance to Canadian society and is required to be transferred to LAC when its retention period has expired. This identification is carried out by LAC and recorded in a disposition authorization.
- Branch Accession Number (BAN) (Numéro d'acquisition de la direction (BAN))
- A unique number assigned to records by LAC when the assigned archivist creates an accession in LAC's database for transferred records. It is always referred to using the abbreviation BAN. This number consists of 10 digits (ex. 2018-00237-X) and is searchable in LAC's online catalogue.
- Checksum (somme de contrôle)
- A checksum on a computer file is a “digital fingerprint;” any change to the computer file will change the checksum. Checksums are typically created by tools using cryptographic techniques. A checksum can be used to detect if a computer file's contents have changed but cannot identify where in the computer file a change occurred.
Adapted from: Digital Preservation Coalition, Fixity and Checksums, in Digital Preservation Handbook, 2nd rev. ed., 2015.
- Control (Contrôle)
- The authority to make decisions about publications and records, and their management for the purpose of preservation, access and disposition, whether exercised or not, and regardless of who has custody. LAC control over publications and records may be partial or complete and may be subject to agreements. See also “custody.”
- Custody (Garde)
- The possession of publications and records, regardless of who has control over it. Custody may be shared and may be subject to agreements. See also “control”.
- Digital object (Objet numérique)
- A discrete unit of information in digital (i.e., binary) form that constitutes either a representation, a file (e.g., .doc, .pdf, .jpg, which may itself contain sub-components or embedded objects but is identified and managed as a single information resource), a bitstream or a filestream.
- Digital record (Document numérique)
- A record in digital (i.e., binary) form. A digital record may be a single digital object, or it may consist of a series of interrelated, nested, or linked digital objects.
- Disposition (Disposition)
- Disposition is either the transfer of archival records to LAC, or the destruction or alienation of non-archival records by the institution. Disposition can occur only when the retention period of a record has expired.
- Disposition authorization (Autorisation de disposition)
- In accordance with the provisions of section 12 (1) of the Library and Archives of Canada Act, a disposition authorization is the instrument that the Librarian and Archivist of Canada issues to enable government institutions to dispose of records when their retention period has expired, either by permitting their destruction, by requiring their transfer to Library and Archives Canada or by agreeing to their alienation from the control of the Government of Canada. Disposition Authorizations are granted in two ways: i) on an institution-specific basis or ii) on a multi-institutional basis. In these procedures, this term encompasses all the documents issued by Library and Archives Canada and which make it possible to determine the archival value of the records of a government institution. This includes records disposition authorizations (RDA), multi-institution and institution specific disposition authorizations (MIDA and ISDA), disposition authorizations (DA), disposition frameworks and application guides.
- File (Dossier)
- An organized unit of records brought together because they relate to the same subject, activity or transaction.
- Government institution (Institution fédérale)
- Has the same meaning as in section 3 of the Access to Information Act or in section 3 of the Privacy Act or means an institution designated by the Governor in Council.
- Government record (Document fédéral)
- A record that is under the control of a government institution.
- Inventory (Inventaire)
- A detailed list of files or items proposed for transfer to LAC. This list must follow the instructions in the LAC Inventory Template.
- Metadata (métadonnées)
- Information used to contextualize, manage, preserve and provide access to records.
- Physical and analog record (Document physique et analogique)
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A physical record is tangible and can be read or deciphered without the use of a machine or computer. This includes, for example, textual records, maps, plans, stamps on paper, printed photographs, documentary art, etc.
An analog record is created by a physical process and may require a machine to read or decipher. These include, for example, photographs and films made with light sensitive materials, video and sound recordings on tape, phonograph records, microfilm or microfiche, etc.
- Preservation (Préservation)
- Preservation is all actions taken to slow deterioration of or prevent damage to the collections, and to ensure that its access, use and meaning, and its capacity to be accepted as evidence of what it purports to publish and record, are maintained over time.
- Record (Document)
- Means any documentary material other than a publication, regardless of medium or form.
- Registration (Enregistrement)
- The process of establishing the initial physical control over the records received by LAC following a transfer. It includes assigning a registration control number by LAC.
- Registration control number (Numéro de contrôle d'enregistrement)
- Unique identifier generated by LAC to indicate that the initial physical control of transferred records has been established. This number consists of 8 digits (ex. 2022-0045).
- Retention Period (Délai de conservation)
- The amount of time a record must be kept under the control of a government institution to meet operational, administrative, fiscal, legal or historical requirements.
- Security category of the records (Catégorie de sécurité des documents)
- Assignment of a security category to information resources or records based on the degree of injury that could reasonably be expected to result from their compromise.
An information resource or a record can be protected and/or classified. LAC uses the same definitions for security categories as found in section J.2.4 of the Appendix J: Standard on Security Categorization of security category Directive on Security Management of Treasury Board Secretariat.
- Transfer (Transfert)
- The process of physically relocating records from a government institution into the custody and control of LAC. This process includes the reassignment of physical and intellectual ownership of the records to LAC.
- Transfer request number (Numéro de la demande de transfert)
- Unique identifier generated by LAC when a transfer request is received via its website. This number always includes the acronym TGR (Transfer of Government Records), followed by FY (Fiscal year), the last two digits of the current fiscal year and 3 digits indicating the order receipt of the request by LAC. Ex.: TGR-FY23-123.
Appendix B: Related documents
Federal acts
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Library and Archives Canada
Other Government Sources
Appendix C: Transfer checklist and information needed to fill out the online form
Institutions may use the following checklist to help determine if records meet the criteria for transfer to LAC:
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Do the records meet the criteria for transferring records to LAC? (section 6.1)
- Does the institution have a valid disposition authorization?
- Are the records identified as archival in that disposition authorization?
- Has the retention period expired?
- Have you ensured there are no legal reasons which prevent their transfer?
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Do the digital records meet the criteria for long-term preservation by LAC? (section 6.1)?
- Are the digital records loaded onto one or more external hard disk drives or USB flash drives?
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Can you provide the following information about the records? (section 6.2)
- The creating business unit or program.
- The date range during which the records were active.
- The purpose and use of the records.
- How the records are or were organized.
- Any relevant clauses of the disposition authorization.
- A detailed inventory which includes all the mandatory information listed in LAC's Inventory Template (available in the Request to transfer government records form).
- Does the proposed transfer include all the records' metadata required by the Operational Standard for Digital Archival Records' Metadata?
- Have you completed the Digital Transfer Assessment Form (available in the Request to transfer government records form)?
- Have you maximized the removal of access restrictions in accordance with Treasury Board Secretariat Directive on Service and Digital section 4.3.1.11 and Directive on Open Government section 6.5?
Appendix D: Transfer checklist and information needed to fill out the online form
It is strongly recommended that institutions consult with their assigned archivist at the beginning of the transfer process, in order to prevent unnecessary or duplicated efforts as part of preparing records for transfer. If the institution does not know their assigned archivist, they can contact the LAC Liaison Centre (centredeliaison-liaisoncentre@bac-lac.gc.ca), who will put them in touch with the appropriate person.
- Institution submits a Transfer Request through the Transfer Request Form on the LAC website.
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The assigned archivist reviews the request and contacts the institution to address any outstanding concerns.
- If needed the institution makes changes to address these concerns.
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The assigned archivist approves the transfer.
- If the assigned archivist rejects the transfer, the process ends here.
Please note that the rejection of a request to transfer government records does not authorize the institution to destroy these records. The institution remains responsible for protecting archival records and must find a way to resolve the issues identified in order to proceed with the transfer to LAC. The assigned archivist will contact the institution to address the reasons for rejection.
- LAC will reach out to the contact provided by the institution to arrange pick up or provide the necessary information for the institution to courier physical storage media.
- Pick up or delivery of records occurs.
- The institution receives a registration number.
- A technical appraisal is conducted to ensure the integrity and preservation quality of the transferred records.
- The records are arranged and described in LAC's online catalogue.
- LAC creates a preservation archival copy of the records.
- The institution receives an acquisition notification confirming the records have been preserved by LAC. This acquisition notification includes a reference number (e.g. Branch Accession Number (BAN)) and notifies the institution that it can dispose of the records and copies under its control.
- The institution disposes all source records and copies of the records under its control.