Archiving (архивско и канцелариско работење) is the quiet compliance obligation most businesses neglect — until an inspection or a dispute requires a document they cannot find or should not have destroyed. Companies must organise, store and retain their records to defined standards, and some documents must be kept for decades. Here is what a compliant setup looks like.
A retention plan and lists
You must have and apply a plan of archival signs, a list of archival material, and a list of documentary material with retention periods. The plan follows a standard structure (a common part covering core functions, plus a special part for your activity), and your retention periods must match the standard ones.
How long to keep records
Retention periods vary by document type. As a guide to the standard periods:
| Record type | Typical retention |
|---|---|
| Payroll & personnel records | 45 years |
| Accounting documentation | 10 years |
| Contracts | 10 years |
| General correspondence | 1–2 years |
The long periods for payroll and personnel records exist because former employees may need them for pension and rights purposes years later — which is exactly why they must not be destroyed early.
Registry book and daily records
You keep a registry book (деловодник) — the basic record of incoming and outgoing documents, with reference numbers and sub-numbers — closed off at the end of each year. Incoming documents get an intake stamp and a retention stamp (with the archival sign and retention period). By internal act you assign responsibility for office and archival work to an organisational unit or, for a small business, to one authorised person.
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Storage, selection and destruction
Archival material is kept separately from ordinary documentary material, stored in labelled archive boxes in a locked, controlled space protected from humidity, temperature, sunlight and fire, with access only for authorised staff. When documents are taken out, use a loan record. Periodically you select archival from documentary material per the lists; and before any destruction, you prepare an inventory of the documentary material to be destroyed, confirming the retention period has expired and that no archival material is included. Electronic documents must be kept in their original/permanent form and protected against unauthorised access, alteration or loss.
