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Guidance

Records Retention Schedule

The Gambling Commission's Records Retention Schedule.

Published
12 May 2026

Last updated
12 May 2026 - Changes

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  1. Contents
  2. Introduction

Introduction

The Records Retention Schedule provides a framework for managing the Gambling Commission’s records, ensuring that they are retained for the appropriate periods of time. Utilising the Retention Schedule enables the Commission to comply with relevant legislation, to ensure that information remains available for as long as it is needed, and to safeguard records which are suitable for permanent preservation in the National Archives as records of enduring public interest or historical value.

The Schedule is arranged by function, which means that it is arranged according to the activity the records relate to rather than the team that carries out the activity.

The functions are as follows:

The Retention Schedule describes:

  • the type of record
  • the function each type of record sits under
  • the retention period for each type of record, which specifies the length of time each record in this category needs to be kept
  • the trigger, which describes the event or point in time that marks the start of the retention period
  • the reason or relevant legislation which dictates the length of the retention period
  • the action that should be taken at the end of the retention period (destroy, review or transfer to the National Archives).

Actions to take at the end of the retention period

There are 4 potential actions to be taken at the end of the retention period. These are:

  • destroy
  • review
  • transfer to the National Archives
  • add to personnel file.

Where the action at the end of the retention period is to destroy, the records must be securely destroyed and deleted as soon as possible once the retention period has ended.

Where the action is to review, the records must be reviewed by the relevant Information Asset Owner (IAO) in consultation with the Records Manager. Records can be retained for longer than the original retention period if there is a compelling reason to do so, for example if there is ongoing litigation or if the records are suitable for permanent preservation through transfer to the National Archives. If records are retained beyond the original retention period for reasons other than transfer to the National Archives, the retention period will be extended for a set period of time. At the end of the extended retention period, the records must be reviewed again.

Where the action is to transfer to the National Archives, the record must be kept safe from potential alteration until it is transferred to the National Archives.

Where the action is to add to personnel file, the record must be saved on the relevant employee’s personnel file held by People Services as soon as the retention period has expired. Any records held locally by team or recruiting managers must be sent to People Services to be added to the central file, and any additional copies must be deleted, including destroying any paper copies securely in confidential waste bins.

The following pages detail the record retention schedules for each function.

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