> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.coverbase.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Records retention and legal hold > Set how long each kind of record is kept, place and release legal holds that stop archiving and deletion, and approve or retain the records whose retention period has ended in the disposition queue. For AI agents: a documentation index is available at [https://docs.coverbase.com/llms.txt](https://docs.coverbase.com/llms.txt). This page is also available in markdown by appending .md to the URL. > [!NOTE] > > This guide is part of the [User Guides](https://docs.coverbase.com/user-guides/overview.md) collection. It covers **Configuration → Records Retention**. It sits beside [Audit trails](https://docs.coverbase.com/security/audit-trails.md), whose purge follows the audit log rule set here, and [Offboarding and continuity](https://docs.coverbase.com/user-guides/offboarding-and-continuity.md), which starts the clock for offboarded vendor records. **Records Retention** sets how long each kind of record is kept, which legal holds suspend that, and what is waiting on a disposition decision. Nothing is archived or deleted without an approval on this page. The mistake people make most often is expecting a record to disappear when its retention period ends. The daily check only adds it to the **Disposition Queue**. A person has to approve it there. ## Before you start Viewing the page needs organization settings read permission. Changing the schedule, placing or releasing a hold, and deciding the queue need organization settings update permission. ![Records Retention page with an empty Disposition Queue, a Legal Holds table holding one active hold scoped to 1 vendor and 1 engagement for contracts, assessments, questionnaire responses, evidence documents, findings and the audit log, and a Retention Schedule: assessments kept 2,555 days from completion then archived, contracts 3,650 days from contract end then reviewed, offboarded vendor records 2,555 days from offboarding then deleted, and the rest kept indefinitely](https://mintcdn.com/coverbase/3fvVTHLhtEeYNQp8/images/user-guides/records-retention-page.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=3fvVTHLhtEeYNQp8\&q=85\&s=5e45dcd0a6f824de1ed381f7a7410089) Configuration → Records Retention, with an active legal hold and a schedule for four record types. ## Step 1: Set the retention schedule **Retention Schedule** lists each **Record Type**: **Assessments**, **Questionnaire responses**, **Evidence documents**, **Findings**, **Contracts**, **Audit log** and **Offboarded vendor records**. A type with no rule reads **Kept indefinitely**. To set a rule, click **Set schedule** (or **Edit**) on the row and fill in: | Field | What it means | | - | - | | **Days Kept** | How long the record is kept. | | **Counted From** | **From completion**, **From offboarding** or **From contract end**. | | **When the Period Ends** | **Archive** or **Delete** take the record out of every list once approved. **Review** records the decision and keeps the record. | Click **Save**. **Keep indefinitely** removes the rule. Records past their period are queued for a decision, not removed. An approved **Archive** or **Delete** archives the record: it leaves every list, and Coverbase support can still restore it. The **Audit log** rule works differently. Audit log entries are not queued. A rule for them keeps entries for at least that many days, longer than Coverbase's own purge would. See [Audit trails](https://docs.coverbase.com/security/audit-trails.md#retention). ## Step 2: Place a legal hold While a hold is active, nothing in its scope can be archived, deleted, purged or queued for disposition. **1. Open the dialog** Under **Legal Holds**, click **Place hold**. **2. Name it and say why** Enter the **Name** and the **Reason**. **3. Choose the scope** Add **Vendors** to hold every record that belongs to them. Leave vendors empty to hold the whole organization. Under **Record Types**, tick the types to hold, or leave all unchecked to hold every type. **4. Place it** Click **Place hold**. The hold shows **Active** with its scope, when it was placed and by whom. What a hold does: * Deleting or archiving an assessment, contract, finding or vendor document it covers is refused with **This record is on legal hold and cannot be archived or deleted.** * The daily check does not queue a record it covers. * An item already in the queue is not changed when someone approves it. It is counted as on legal hold instead. * An organization-wide hold on the **Audit log** stops the audit log purge. A hold placed through the API can also name engagements: it then covers assessments linked to those engagements. To end a hold, click **Release** and give the **Reason for release**. The hold shows **Released** with the date, and the records it held become subject to the retention schedule again. ## Step 3: Decide the disposition queue Once a day, Coverbase adds every record whose retention period has ended to the **Disposition Queue**, with the **Record** and the date it was **Due**. The heading says how many records are due. Select records and choose: * **Approve N records** runs each record's scheduled action. A record a hold now covers is not changed, and the page says how many were on legal hold. * **Retain** keeps the selected records, and records the decision. When nothing is due, the queue reads **Nothing is waiting on a disposition decision.** ## Troubleshooting | What you see | Cause | Fix | | - | - | - | | A record past its period is still in every list | The daily check queues it; it does not remove it. | Approve it in the **Disposition Queue**. | | A record never reached the queue | A legal hold covers it, or its type is **Kept indefinitely**. | Check **Legal Holds** and the schedule. | | **This record is on legal hold and cannot be archived or deleted.** | An active hold covers the record. | Release the hold if it no longer applies. | | Approving left some records unchanged | A hold was placed after they were queued. | Expected. Release the hold, or retain them. | | An archived record needs to come back | Archive and delete both archive the record. | Contact Coverbase support. | ## Related > [card] [Audit trails](https://docs.coverbase.com/security/audit-trails.md) > > The audit log, its hash chain and its retention. > [card] [Offboarding and continuity](https://docs.coverbase.com/user-guides/offboarding-and-continuity.md) > > Offboarding, which starts the clock for offboarded vendor records. > [card] [Electronic signatures on records](https://docs.coverbase.com/user-guides/record-signatures.md) > > Signed decisions on TPRM records. > [card] [Permissions and roles](https://docs.coverbase.com/user-guides/permissions-and-roles.md) > > The organization settings permissions this page needs. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.