There is no one federal keep-until date here for every retail Duty to Warn file. Name the record first. Section 192.16 has a three-year evidence rule; that is not a blanket rule for customer brochures. Have your lawyer and insurer set the schedule for your retail mailing files.
By Bill Stomp · Last updated:
Primary sources: 49 CFR 192.16 · 49 CFR 192.616 · 49 CFR 172.704.
Which three-year rule is this?
49 CFR 192.16 requires the current buried-pipe notice and proof of notices sent in the past three years. It has its own scope. It does not say to throw out all retail mailing files after three years.
49 CFR 172.704 deals with hazmat staff training. Keep current training records, including the past three years, while the person works for you as a hazmat employee and for 90 days after. That is a staff-file rule.
What should the office write down?
We suggest a row for each kind of record. List the rule, person in charge, time to keep it and any hold on deletion. Keep the final piece, list, sent date and proof of mailing together.
49 CFR 192.616 paragraph (i) requires program documentation and evaluation results to be available for agency review. Paragraph (j) sets two messages a year, but gives no numeric keep-until period there. Ask the regulator what other record rules apply.
Questions owners ask
Can we delete retail warning records after three years?
Do not use a rule for another file as permission to delete these records. Get the schedule and any hold checked by your lawyer and insurer.
What should stay with a mailing batch?
We suggest the final piece, version date, list, sent date, mailing proof and returned-mail follow-up. These show the work done. They do not prove someone read it.
Does scanning the paper change the retention rule?
No. A scan does not decide how long to keep a record. Check the policy before discarding originals. Make sure staff can find the file.
General information, not legal advice. Check your system’s rules with your pipeline regulator and your own lawyer.
Bring your current file list to a mailing-record review.