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Ohio public agencies cannot simply delete or destroy government records whenever they are no longer convenient to keep. Public records generally must be retained according to applicable records retention schedules and disposed of only when legally permitted.
Ohio’s 2026 Sunshine Laws Manual also addresses an increasingly important records-management issue: public officials should avoid platforms or applications that automatically delete records when conducting public business.
For cities, counties, townships, school districts, public universities, libraries, law enforcement agencies, and other public offices, the guidance reinforces an important distinction:
Records retention determines how long information must be kept. Records destruction addresses what happens after records are properly authorized for disposal.
Once applicable retention and disposition requirements have been satisfied, secure destruction can help ensure confidential information contained within those records does not remain readable or recoverable.
Black Ops Destruction provides secure document shredding, hard drive destruction, electronics recycling, and other destruction services for government agencies and organizations throughout Ohio and the Midwest.
What Changed in Ohio's 2026 Sunshine Laws Guidance?
The Ohio Attorney General released the 2026 Ohio Sunshine Laws Manual, commonly known as the Yellow Book, in March 2026.
One notable area of guidance concerns disappearing digital communications. The manual advises public officials to avoid platforms or applications that automatically delete records when conducting public business.
Why does this matter?
Whether a communication qualifies as a public record depends on its content and relationship to public-office activities, not simply the device, application, or platform used to create it.
Automatically deleting communications could interfere with an agency's ability to properly retain, review, or produce records when required.
For public agencies, practical records-management considerations include:
- Identifying communications and documents that qualify as records
- Following applicable approved retention schedules
- Avoiding automatically disappearing communications for public business
- Preventing premature destruction
- Following applicable disposition procedures
- Documenting records destruction when appropriate
- Securely destroying sensitive information after disposal has been properly authorized
What Are Ohio Public Records?
Ohio's Public Records Act generally defines a record through three basic elements.
A record generally must:
- Exist on a fixed medium
- Be created or received by, or come under the jurisdiction of, a public office
- Document the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the office
Public records can therefore extend well beyond traditional paper files.
Depending on their content and purpose, records may include:
- Emails
- Text messages
- Reports
- Contracts
- Financial records
- Personnel documents
- Meeting materials
- Photographs
- Videos
- Electronic files
- Other communications documenting public business
The format or device alone does not determine whether information qualifies as a public record.
Public agencies should evaluate records according to applicable Ohio law, retention schedules, policies, and guidance rather than assuming that informal or electronic communications fall outside records-management requirements.
Why Disappearing Messages Are a Records-Retention Concern
Messaging technology has complicated government records management.
Some platforms allow messages, photographs, videos, or other communications to disappear automatically after being viewed or after a predetermined period.
Ohio's 2026 Sunshine Laws Manual advises public officials to avoid platforms or applications that automatically delete records when conducting public business. The manual discusses applications offering disappearing-message functionality, including Signal, WhatsApp, and Snapchat.
The important issue is not the brand of application.
It is whether public business is being documented and whether records that should be retained are instead being automatically deleted.
A text message or other electronic communication discussing public business does not necessarily fall outside public-records requirements simply because it was sent from a phone or through a messaging application.
Agencies should establish records-management practices that account for the content of communications, not merely where those communications occur.
Can Ohio Public Agencies Destroy Public Records?
Yes, public records can be destroyed when their disposal is permitted under applicable law and records-management procedures.
They should not simply be destroyed because an office no longer wants them, no longer regularly uses them, or wants to reduce stored records.
Ohio's Public Records Act and related records-management requirements govern the handling and disposition of public-office records.
The 2026 Sunshine Laws Manual explains that records may be destroyed in accordance with a properly approved records retention schedule.
If an applicable retention schedule does not address a particular category of record, the agency should not assume the record is automatically eligible for destruction. Appropriate records-management authorities should be consulted and the applicable procedures followed.
What Is an Ohio Records Retention Schedule?
A records retention schedule establishes how long categories of records should be maintained before they become eligible for disposition.
When developing records schedules, public offices may need to evaluate the continuing value of records for purposes such as:
- Administrative needs
- Legal requirements
- Fiscal requirements
- Historical value
Public offices also have obligations related to maintaining and making applicable retention schedules available.
A retention schedule therefore serves an important dual purpose.
It helps prevent records from being destroyed too early while also establishing a structured process for disposing of records that have legitimately reached the end of their required retention period.
Should Public Agencies Keep Records Forever?
Not necessarily.
Records management is not simply about keeping as much information as possible for as long as possible.
Public agencies should follow their applicable retention schedules and disposition requirements.
Keeping records beyond their required retention period can also have practical consequences. Records that continue to exist may remain subject to applicable public-records obligations.
A well-managed records program therefore focuses on the entire lifecycle:
Identify → Classify → Retain → Review → Authorize → Dispose
The goal is to retain records for the appropriate period and follow the proper disposition process when they become eligible.
What Are Transient Records?
Not every government record needs to be retained for the same length of time.
Ohio records-management guidance recognizes categories of records that may have short-term administrative usefulness or value.
Depending on the applicable schedule and circumstances, examples can include materials such as:
- Voicemail messages
- Telephone message slips
- Sticky notes
- Calendar invitations
- Superseded drafts
- Other short-term administrative communications
However, agencies should not assume that every informal document, draft, text, or message is automatically transient.
Content and purpose matter.
Public agencies should rely on their applicable retention schedules and records-management procedures when determining how a particular record should be classified and how long it should be retained.
Records Retention vs. Records Destruction
Records retention and records destruction are closely related, but they are not interchangeable.
Records retention determines how long information must be maintained.
Records destruction is the controlled disposition process that can occur after records become eligible and appropriate authorization and procedures have been completed.
A practical records lifecycle can look like this:
1. Create or Receive the Record
The agency creates or receives information related to public business.
2. Classify the Record
The record is identified and associated with the appropriate category and retention requirements.
3. Retain the Record
The information remains appropriately maintained and accessible for the required period.
4. Review for Disposition
The agency determines whether the applicable retention period has been satisfied and whether another requirement prevents disposal.
5. Complete Required Procedures
Applicable records-disposition, approval, notification, or documentation procedures are completed.
6. Securely Destroy Authorized Material
Paper records, electronic media, or other sensitive materials authorized for disposal are destroyed using an appropriate method.
This distinction is important.
A secure destruction provider does not determine when an Ohio public record is legally eligible for destruction.
The public agency and its appropriate records-management authorities make that determination.
The destruction provider's role begins once the agency has properly authorized the material for disposal.
Why Public Agencies Should Document Records Destruction
Documentation can be an important part of a defensible records-management process.
Ohio's Sunshine Laws guidance discusses documenting destruction of records that have met applicable retention requirements. Maintaining appropriate disposition records can help an office understand what it continues to possess and document what was properly disposed of.
Depending on the agency, record category, schedule, and applicable requirements, additional procedures may apply.
For example, certain local-government records dispositions may involve a Certificate of Records Disposal, commonly known as an RC-3, and procedures involving the State Archives at the Ohio History Connection.
Agencies should verify whether an RC-3 or another disposition procedure applies to the particular records being considered for destruction.
A shredding provider's Certificate of Destruction serves a different purpose.
It can document that a destruction service occurred, but it does not replace the agency's records-retention schedule, RC-3 requirements when applicable, or other government records-management procedures.
Why Secure Destruction Matters After Retention Requirements Are Met
Authorization to dispose of a record does not mean the information contained within it suddenly becomes harmless.
Government records can contain sensitive information such as:
- Social Security numbers
- Employee information
- Payroll information
- Financial information
- Tax records
- Medical information
- Account numbers
- Personally identifiable information
- Internal administrative information
- Other confidential or sensitive data
Simply placing authorized records into an ordinary trash or recycling container can leave information readable while the material moves through the waste stream.
Professional document destruction provides a controlled final step by physically destroying paper records before the resulting material enters the appropriate recycling process.
For public agencies, that process can also include secure collection, controlled handling, documented chain of custody, and destruction documentation.
What About Electronic Public Records?
Public records increasingly exist on computers, servers, hard drives, SSDs, phones, removable media, and other electronic devices.
The same fundamental distinction applies.
First, determine whether the information stored on the device must still be retained.
Then determine whether the records can be transferred, sanitized, deleted, or otherwise disposed of according to the agency's applicable requirements and policies.
When a storage device reaches the end of its useful life, deleting files or performing a basic format should not automatically be treated as secure data sanitization.
The appropriate process can depend on:
- The type of storage media
- The information stored on the device
- Whether the equipment will be reused
- Applicable retention requirements
- Agency security policies
- Applicable legal or regulatory requirements
- The intended disposition of the equipment
When physical destruction is appropriate, hard drive and media destruction can provide a controlled endpoint for retired data-bearing devices.
If the remaining computers, servers, or other equipment also need to be retired, electronics recycling can be coordinated after data-bearing components have been appropriately addressed.
Public Records Destruction Checklist for Ohio Agencies
Before destroying government records, agencies should consider a process such as:
- Identify the record category
- Check the applicable current approved retention schedule
- Confirm that the required retention period has been satisfied
- Determine whether any legal, administrative, audit, historical, litigation, investigation, or other requirement prevents disposal
- Complete applicable records-disposition procedures
- Obtain any required approvals or notifications
- Document what has been authorized for destruction
- Keep sensitive records secured while awaiting destruction
- Use an appropriate destruction method
- Maintain applicable disposition and destruction documentation afterward
This is a practical starting point, not a substitute for an agency's approved retention schedules, applicable Ohio law, or guidance from its records officer, legal counsel, records commission, State Archives, or other appropriate authority.
How Secure Shredding Fits Into Ohio Public Records Management
A shredding provider should not decide when an Ohio public record has satisfied its retention requirements.
That responsibility remains with the public agency and the appropriate records-management authorities.
Once an agency has properly authorized records for destruction, however, professional shredding can provide a controlled transition from retained record to destroyed material.
Black Ops Destruction provides:
- Scheduled document shredding
- One-time purge shredding
- Mobile on-site shredding
- Secure off-site shredding
- Hard drive destruction
- Electronics recycling
- Secure collection containers
- Certificates of Destruction
For agencies managing significant quantities of records, a defined destruction process can help maintain control between storage, collection, transportation, destruction, and final recycling.
What Should Ohio Agencies Look for in a Destruction Provider?
Once records are properly authorized for disposal, the destruction provider becomes part of the agency's information-handling process.
Public agencies should consider factors such as:
- Secure collection procedures
- Documented chain of custody
- Employee screening and security practices
- Appropriate destruction methods
- On-site and off-site service options
- Certificates of Destruction
- Ability to process hard drives and electronic media
- Electronics recycling capabilities
- Experience handling large records purges
- Relevant third-party certifications
Black Ops Destruction is NAID AAA Certified for applicable destruction operations.
Certification is one factor agencies can consider when evaluating how a provider handles confidential materials throughout the destruction process.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ohio Public Records Retention and Destruction
What changed in Ohio's Sunshine Laws guidance in 2026?
Ohio's 2026 Sunshine Laws Manual includes guidance advising public officials to avoid platforms or applications that automatically delete records when conducting public business. Automatically disappearing communications can create records-management concerns when the communications qualify as records that should be retained.
Can public records be shredded in Ohio?
Public records can be destroyed when they are legally eligible for disposition and applicable records-management procedures have been satisfied. Agencies should follow their approved retention schedules and any other applicable disposition requirements before authorizing destruction.
Can an Ohio public agency destroy records after the retention period expires?
Potentially, but expiration of a retention period should not be treated as the only consideration in every situation. Agencies should follow the applicable retention schedule and disposition procedures and determine whether legal holds, audits, investigations, historical requirements, or other obligations prevent destruction.
Are text messages public records in Ohio?
They can be. Whether a communication constitutes a public record depends on its content and relationship to public-office activities, not simply whether it was sent by text message or another communication platform.
Are disappearing messages allowed for Ohio public business?
Ohio's 2026 Sunshine Laws guidance advises public officials to avoid platforms or applications that automatically delete records when conducting public business.
What happens if a record is not listed on a retention schedule?
An agency should not assume that an unlisted record can be destroyed. The appropriate records-management authorities should be consulted and applicable procedures followed before disposal.
Should an agency document destroyed records?
Maintaining appropriate records of disposition and destruction can help an agency document what was properly disposed of and what records it continues to maintain. The specific documentation required depends on the applicable records-management procedures.
What is an RC-3 in Ohio?
An RC-3 is a Certificate of Records Disposal used in certain Ohio local-government records-disposition processes. Whether an RC-3 is required depends on the applicable schedule, record category, and records-management procedures. Agencies should verify their specific requirements before disposal.
Does a Certificate of Destruction replace an Ohio records retention schedule?
No. A destruction provider's Certificate of Destruction documents the destruction service. It does not establish that a public record was legally eligible for destruction and does not replace applicable retention schedules or government disposition procedures.
Can Ohio agencies destroy old hard drives?
Potentially, after the agency has appropriately addressed the records stored on the devices and determined that the media is authorized for destruction. Agencies should consider applicable retention requirements, preservation obligations, internal policies, and the intended disposition of the equipment before physically destroying storage media.
Build a Defensible Ohio Public Records Destruction Process
Ohio's 2026 Sunshine Laws guidance highlights an important principle for public agencies: government records should not disappear simply because technology makes deletion easy.
Public offices need to understand what records they maintain, how long those records must be retained, and what procedures apply before those records can be disposed of.
Only after the appropriate retention and disposition requirements have been satisfied should secure physical destruction become the next step.
A sound process connects the entire records lifecycle:
Create → Classify → Retain → Review → Authorize → Document → Destroy
Black Ops Destruction provides secure document shredding, hard drive destruction, electronics recycling, and related destruction services for government agencies and organizations throughout Ohio and the Midwest.
Our team can provide secure collection, documented chain of custody, mobile or facility-based destruction, and Certificates of Destruction for materials your organization has authorized for disposal.
Contact Black Ops Destruction to discuss secure destruction for records that have completed your agency's required retention and disposition process.
Call: 330-888-5410
Email: mmarzullo@blackopsdestruction.com
Contact: Request a Quote
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