Managing Emails As Records

The transfer of email records to the appropriate recordkeeping system as described in the previous section is a critical stage in the process. However, the simple act of transferring the email record is not in itself sufficient to ensure the preservation of their evidential and informational value. Everything possible must be done to ensure the maintenance of the email's record-like properties and characteristics during and after this process. These properties include the following (all of which are explained in more detail within the Records Management strand of this resource) Authenticity, Completeness, Reliability and Fixity.

Authenticity

In order to demonstrate the authenticity of the email it is important that all sender and recipient information is carried over with the email record - including all parties receiving the email as a carbon copy (CC) or blind carbon copy (BCC). Some legal opinion also asserts that an email can only be considered a legal record if the author has manually typed either their name or initials at the end of the message. Reliance solely on a name which is automatically included as part of an email signature may not be regarded as sufficient in this regard.

Completeness

The completeness of the email as a record can only be assured if all component parts of the email are transferred and retained together as a single record. This includes the text contained within the email itself, the transmission data included within the email 'header' and any attachments originally associated with the message.

Reliability

As with all records it is largely up to the original author to ensure that the contents of the email record are accurate. However it is also important to be confident that nothing has changed within the content of the email record during the process of transfer to the record keeping system. This may be especially relevant if the format of the email is being changed during this process (i.e. from its native Outlook Message Format or HTML into a text file).

Fixity

It is important to ensure and be able to demonstrate that no element of the email has been or can be altered in anyway after being declared as a record. This includes changes to the content, but also to the transmission data and the content of any attachments transferred with the original message. This may be variously achieved by altering the properties of the file to a 'read only' status, or modifying the permissions within the specific area of the record keeping system to prevent further amendment.