[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 48, Volume 1]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 48CFR4.703]



[Page 71-72]

 

            TITLE 48--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATIONS SYSTEM

 

                CHAPTER 1--FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION

 

PART 4_ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS--Table of Contents

 

                Subpart 4.7_Contractor Records Retention

 

Sec. 4.703  Policy.



    (a) Except as stated in 4.703(b), contractors shall make available 

records, which includes books, documents, accounting procedures and 

practices, and other data, regardless of type and regardless of whether 

such items are in written form, in the form of computer data, or in any 

other form, and other supporting evidence to satisfy contract 

negotiation, administration, and audit requirements of the contracting 

agencies and the Comptroller General for (1) 3 years after final payment 

or, for certain records, (2) the period specified in 4.705 through 

4.705-3, whichever of these periods expires first.

    (b) Contractors shall make available the foregoing records and 

supporting evidence for a longer period of time than is required in 

4.703(a) if--

    (1) A retention period longer than that cited in 4.703(a) is 

specified in any contract clause; or

    (2) The contractor, for its own purposes, retains the foregoing 

records and supporting evidence for a longer period. Under this 

circumstance, the retention period shall be the period of the 

contractor's retention or 3 years after final payment, whichever period 

expires first.

    (3) The contractor does not meet the original due date for 

submission of final indirect cost rate proposals specified in 

subparagraph (d)(2) of the clause



[[Page 72]]



at 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, and subparagraph (c)(2) of the 

clause at 52.216-13, Allowable Cost and Payment--Facilities. Under these 

circumstances, the retention periods in 4.705 shall be automatically 

extended one day for each day the proposal is not submitted after the 

original due date.

    (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a 

contractor from duplicating or storing original records in electronic 

form unless they contain significant information not shown on the record 

copy. Original records need not be maintained or produced in an audit if 

the contractor or subcontractor provides photographic or electronic 

images of the original records and meets the following requirements:

    (1) The contractor or subcontractor has established procedures to 

ensure that the imaging process preserves accurate images of the 

original records, including signatures and other written or graphic 

images, and that the imaging process is reliable and secure so as to 

maintain the integrity of the records.

    (2) The contractor or subcontractor maintains an effective indexing 

system to permit timely and convenient access to the imaged records.

    (3) The contractor or subcontractor retains the original records for 

a minimum of one year after imaging to permit periodic validation of the 

imaging systems.

    (d) If the information described in paragraph (a) of this section is 

maintained on a computer, contractors shall retain the computer data on 

a reliable medium for the time periods prescribed. Contractors may 

transfer computer data in machine readable form from one reliable 

computer medium to another. Contractors' computer data retention and 

transfer procedures shall maintain the integrity, reliability, and 

security of the original computer data. Contractors shall also retain an 

audit trail describing the data transfer. For the record retention time 

periods prescribed, contractors shall not destroy, discard, delete, or 

write over such computer data.



[48 FR 42113, Sept. 19, 1983, as amended at 51 FR 2649, Jan. 17, 1986; 

53 FR 43388, Oct. 26, 1988; 54 FR 48982, Nov. 28, 1989; 59 FR 67015, 

Dec. 28, 1994; 60 FR 42650, Aug. 16, 1995; 62 FR 64915, Dec. 9, 1997]