Meeting Record Retention Policy: Recordings, Transcripts, Minutes + a Simple Retention Table

A meeting record retention policy tells your team what to keep (recordings, transcripts, minutes, action logs), where to store it, who can access it, and when to delete it. The goal is simple: prevent data sprawl while keeping a defensible record you can use for audits, disputes, or compliance needs.

This guide gives you a practical retention table by meeting type and risk level, plus a copy-and-paste policy template assistants and coordinators can follow. Primary keyword: meeting record retention policy.

Key takeaways

• Keep fewer “raw” artifacts (like full recordings) for less time, and keep “summary” artifacts (minutes and decisions) longer.
• Set different retention periods by meeting type and risk level, not one blanket rule.
• Centralize archives in one approved system, lock down access over time, and delete on schedule unless a legal hold applies.
• Write the policy so an assistant can run it: naming rules, where files live, who approves access, and how deletion works.

What counts as a meeting record (and why it matters)

A meeting record is any artifact that shows what was said, decided, or assigned in a meeting. These artifacts can turn into evidence in an audit, internal review, complaint, or legal dispute, so you want them organized and consistent.

Common meeting artifacts include:

• Audio/video recordings (Zoom/Teams/phone recordings).
• Transcripts (human or AI-generated text of the recording).
• Minutes (official summary: attendees, decisions, votes, approvals).
• Action logs (tasks, owners, due dates).
• Agendas and pre-reads (deck, memo, attachments).
• Chat logs and Q&A (in-meeting chat, questions submitted).
• Whiteboards and notes (Miro/Mural, shared docs).

You do not have to keep everything forever. In fact, keeping everything can make a future search slower, increase privacy risk, and raise discovery costs if you face a dispute.

Build your retention rules: meeting types + risk levels

Start with two labels for every meeting: meeting type and risk level. That lets you set retention periods that match what is actually happening in the meeting.

Step 1: Define meeting types (examples you can reuse)

• Operational: weekly team syncs, standups, project status.
• Customer / client: sales calls, support escalations, QBRs.
• HR / people: performance reviews, investigations, hiring panels.
• Legal / compliance: policy reviews, compliance training follow-ups, incident response.
• Executive / board: leadership reviews, board or committee meetings.
• Finance: budget approvals, audit prep, financial close reviews.
• Security / IT: security incidents, access reviews, architecture decisions.
• Product / engineering decisions: design reviews, architecture, go/no-go.

Step 2: Assign a risk level (Low / Medium / High)

Use simple criteria so coordinators can apply it fast. If a meeting touches more than one, pick the highest risk.

• Low risk: routine updates, no sensitive personal data, no contractual commitments.
• Medium risk: customer issues, pricing, roadmap, internal performance topics, non-public business info.
• High risk: HR investigations, legal matters, security incidents, financial reporting, board decisions, regulated data.

Tip: if you don’t want people guessing, add a short dropdown list in your calendar template (Meeting Type + Risk Level) so it is captured at scheduling time.

Retention table (recordings, transcripts, minutes, action logs)

Use the table below as a starting point, then adjust with counsel and compliance for your industry. The logic is: keep minutes/decisions longer than verbatim records (recordings/transcripts), unless you truly need verbatim proof.

Default retention table by meeting type and risk

• Recordings = raw audio/video.
• Transcripts = verbatim or near-verbatim text.
• Minutes/decisions = official summary record.
• Action log = tasks and owners (can live in a ticketing tool).

Low-risk meetings (operational)

• Recording: 30–90 days
• Transcript: 90 days–6 months (or not created)
• Minutes/decisions: 1–2 years (if decisions matter)
• Action log: until tasks close + 6–12 months

Medium-risk meetings (customer, product decisions, finance planning)

• Recording: 6–12 months
• Transcript: 1–2 years
• Minutes/decisions: 3–5 years
• Action log: close + 1–2 years

High-risk meetings (HR, legal/compliance, security incidents, board/committee)

• Recording: 1–3 years (or don’t record unless required)
• Transcript: 3–7 years (if created)
• Minutes/decisions: 7 years (or longer if your governance rules require)
• Action log: close + 3–7 years if tied to incident remediation or formal findings

When to keep longer (decision criteria)

Extend retention when the meeting record supports a long-lived obligation. Common triggers include:

• Contract lifecycle: keep until contract ends + your standard buffer period.
• Product safety or security issues: keep through remediation and review cycles.
• Financial reporting: keep through audit and reporting timelines.
• HR matters: keep per your HR file retention rules and local law.
• Active dispute or complaint: apply legal hold (see below).

When to keep shorter (to avoid data sprawl)

• Redundant artifacts: if approved minutes exist, you may delete the recording sooner.
• Accidental captures: side conversations, sensitive details not needed for decisions.
• Drafts: multiple transcript versions; keep the final only.

Where archives should live (and how to keep them searchable)

Sprawl happens when files sit in personal drives, chat threads, or meeting links that never expire. Pick a single “system of record” for each artifact type, then link them together.

Recommended storage model (simple and defensible)

• Minutes/decisions: a controlled document repository (e.g., SharePoint, Confluence with permissions, or a records system).
• Recordings: a restricted media library or meeting platform storage with retention rules turned on.
• Transcripts: store with minutes or in the same controlled repository, not in email threads.
• Action logs: project tool (Jira/Asana) with a link back to the minutes.

Naming and metadata rules (so you can find things later)

Use one naming format across teams, then require a few fields as metadata. Keep it boring and consistent.

• File name format: YYYY-MM-DD__TeamOrClient__MeetingType__Topic__RiskLevel
• Required metadata: owner, meeting type, risk level, confidentiality label, retention category, deletion date
• Linking rule: minutes must include links to the recording, transcript, and action log (or state “no recording”)

Access controls over time (who can see what, and when)

Access is part of retention. If everyone can view old recordings forever, you increase privacy risk and the chance of accidental sharing.

Set access tiers

• Open internal: low-risk operational notes (still no public sharing).
• Need-to-know: customer calls, product plans, finance planning.
• Restricted: HR, legal, investigations, security incidents, executive sessions.

Use “access aging” (reduce access as records get older)

• 0–30 days: working period; broader access for the project team.
• 31–180 days: tighten access to core owners and managers.
• 181+ days: archive access by request only (ticket + approval), especially for recordings and transcripts.

Control sharing and downloads

• Disable public links and anonymous sharing for meeting archives.
• Limit download rights for high-risk recordings and transcripts.
• Log access to restricted folders where possible.

Deletion, legal holds, and “do we record at all?” decisions

A retention policy only works if deletion is routine and predictable. Deletion also lowers risk, as long as you stop deletion when you must preserve records.

Deletion rules (make them automatic when you can)

• Auto-delete by default for recordings in low-risk categories (example: 60 days).
• Delete duplicates (local downloads, email attachments) once the archive copy exists.
• Delete drafts after final minutes are approved, unless a workflow requires keeping them.
• Keep a deletion log for restricted/high-risk categories (date, category, approver, method).

Legal hold basics (simple process)

A legal hold means you pause deletion for relevant records because of a dispute, investigation, audit, or regulatory request. Your legal team should own the trigger and release, but your policy should explain what staff must do.

• Trigger: written notice from Legal/Compliance (email or ticket).
• Scope: which custodians, date range, projects, meeting types, and systems.
• Action: suspend auto-deletion and prevent edits for in-scope records.
• Release: written release notice, then normal retention resumes.

When not to record

Recording is useful, but it also creates a high-risk artifact. Consider “minutes only” for meetings where a recording adds little value.

• HR investigations or sensitive employee matters.
• Legal strategy discussions.
• Topics likely to include sensitive data that is not needed for decisions.

Simple meeting record retention policy template (copy/paste)

Edit the bracketed text, then publish it in your team handbook. Keep it short enough that assistants will actually use it.

1) Purpose

This meeting record retention policy defines how we create, store, access, and delete meeting artifacts (recordings, transcripts, minutes, and action logs). We aim to prevent data sprawl while preserving defensible records for audits, disputes, and compliance needs.

2) Scope

This policy applies to all meetings hosted by [Company/Team], including internal and external meetings, across all tools used for scheduling, conferencing, documentation, and task tracking.

3) Definitions

• Recording: audio/video capture of the meeting.
• Transcript: text version of the meeting audio.
• Minutes: approved summary of attendees, key points, decisions, and approvals.
• Action log: tasks, owners, and due dates created from the meeting.
• Risk level: Low / Medium / High based on content sensitivity and business impact.

4) Ownership and responsibilities

• Meeting owner: sets meeting type and risk level, approves minutes, and ensures artifacts are stored correctly.
• Coordinator/assistant: files artifacts in the approved archive location, applies naming and metadata, and starts deletion workflow when retention ends.
• IT/Records: maintains approved storage locations, access controls, and retention automation.
• Legal/Compliance: issues and releases legal holds and defines any special retention requirements.

5) Storage locations (system of record)

• Minutes/decisions stored in: [Link to repository/folder]
• Recordings stored in: [Meeting platform storage / secure media library]
• Transcripts stored in: [Repository/folder]
• Action logs stored in: [Jira/Asana/etc.]

6) Naming and required metadata

• File naming standard: YYYY-MM-DD__TeamOrClient__MeetingType__Topic__RiskLevel
• Required metadata: meeting owner, meeting type, risk level, confidentiality label, retention category, deletion date

7) Retention schedule

We retain meeting artifacts according to the retention table below, unless Legal/Compliance issues a legal hold or a documented exception applies.

• Low risk: Recording [__] days; Transcript [__] months; Minutes [__] years; Action log until close + [__] months
• Medium risk: Recording [__] months; Transcript [__] years; Minutes [__] years; Action log close + [__] years
• High risk: Recording [__] years; Transcript [__] years; Minutes [__] years; Action log close + [__] years

8) Access controls

• Meeting artifacts must be stored in approved locations and must not be shared via public links.
• High-risk artifacts are restricted to named roles: [list roles].
• Access to archived artifacts older than [__] days requires approval from [role] and must be requested via [ticketing process].

9) Deletion

• Artifacts are deleted at the end of their retention period unless a legal hold applies.
• Coordinators/assistants remove local copies after confirming the archive copy exists.
• For restricted categories, we keep a deletion log with date, category, and approver.

10) Legal hold

• When Legal/Compliance issues a legal hold notice, all deletion of in-scope records must stop immediately.
• Do not edit or move in-scope records unless Legal/Compliance approves.
• Normal retention resumes only after Legal/Compliance issues a written release.

11) Exceptions

Exceptions require written approval from [Legal/Compliance/Records Owner] and must include a reason and an end date.

Pitfalls to avoid (what breaks retention policies)

Most retention programs fail for predictable reasons. Use this checklist during rollout.

• No system of record: files spread across chats, personal drives, and email.
• One-size-fits-all retention: either deletes too fast for audits or keeps too long and increases risk.
• Recording by default: creates sensitive artifacts even when minutes would work.
• Weak naming and metadata: you cannot find the “right” version later.
• Manual deletion only: people forget; automate wherever possible.
• No legal hold workflow: accidental deletion during a dispute becomes a serious problem.

Common questions

• Should we keep recordings or just minutes?
  If you only need decisions and action items, minutes often cover the need with less risk. Keep recordings when you need verbatim reference, training, or evidence of what was said, and set a shorter retention period than minutes.
• Are AI transcripts “official records”?
  They can be, depending on how you use them. If you rely on a transcript to prove what happened, treat it like an official record: store it in the archive, control access, and apply retention rules.
• How do we prevent people from saving copies everywhere?
  Make the archive easy to use, restrict downloads for high-risk categories, and train teams to link to the system of record instead of attaching files. Also set clear rules: local copies must be deleted once the archived copy exists.
• What if a meeting includes sensitive personal data?
  Assign a higher risk level, restrict access, and shorten retention for raw recordings when possible. If the data should not have been captured, document the issue and delete according to your policy unless a legal hold applies.
• Who should approve access to old meeting records?
  Use role-based approvals: the meeting owner (or department lead) for normal requests and Legal/Compliance for high-risk topics, investigations, or disputes.
• What is the simplest way to start if we have nothing today?
  Pick one archive location, adopt the naming rule, and set default retention for low/medium/high risk. Start by applying it to new meetings, then clean up old storage areas over time.

If you need accurate, usable meeting artifacts—especially transcripts that teams can search and store as part of a defensible record—GoTranscript offers the right solutions, including professional transcription services that fit into a clear retention and archiving workflow.