5
How the National Archives and Records Administration
Implements the PRA
NARA reviews disposal requests of the incumbent President
The Archivist must provide his views in writing before the President and Vice President may dispose
of any incumbent Presidential records. Because Presidential records document the highest level of activities in
the Government, the PRA establishes a presumption that such records will be preserved permanently for
eventual public access. As Presidential records increase in volume across all media and formats, however,
certain types of administrative or high-volume records may be appropriate for disposal.
Under the PRA, the Archivist may state that he does not intend to take any action under subsection (e) of
section 2203 [requesting the advice of Congress] or he must “request the advice of [the appropriate House
and Senate Committees]…whenever he considers that (1) these particular records may be of special interest
to the Congress; or (2) consultation with the Congress regarding the disposal of these particular records is in
the public interest.” Neither “special interest” nor “public interest” is further defined. There is no public
notice or judicial review of an incumbent disposal request by the President.
Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama and Trump, and their Vice
Presidents, have used this authority to dispose of incoming bulk mail. Bulk mail is defined as certain
categories of routine and high-volume public mail including anonymous correspondence, correspondence
with incomplete addresses, mail from prolific writers, and public opinion mail. Bulk mail also includes
enclosures in public mail, such as brochures and clippings, when there is no historical importance to the
materials. The bulk mail disposal program has been instituted with the assistance of NARA’s White House
Liaison Division. Staff sample the mail on a routine basis, and retain a small selected sample for permanent
preservation. This program has resulted in the disposal of a large amount of Presidential records that have
very little value.
With the tremendous increase in the use of electronic systems to create records, NARA worked
collaboratively with the George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump Administrations to also authorize the disposal
of bulk electronic records and certain low-level administrative files. NARA believes that additional disposal
authority may be appropriate in other circumstances, including when records may exist in more than one
media, or when there are electronic copies of records that are maintained in either an electronic or paper
recordkeeping system.
NARA takes legal custody of records at the end of the President’s term
On January 20th at the end of the President’s final term, the Presidential records of the Administration are
automatically transferred to the legal custody of the Archivist of the United States and the National Archives
and Records Administration. The records are eventually housed in a Presidential Library maintained by
NARA. The National Archives and Records Administration preserves, reviews, arranges, describes, and
makes available these records in its role as legal custodian.