Records vs retention (the distinction)
Retention (retention concept) keeps or deletes content. Records management adds a stronger claim: this content is a record — evidence with regulatory or legal weight — and gets extra guarantees around immutability and disposal. It's driven by retention labels that carry a records marking:
| Label tier | Effect |
|---|---|
| Retain/delete only | Ordinary retention; content still fully editable |
| Record | Content is locked as a record but can be unlocked (with audit) to edit, then re-locked |
| Regulatory record | The strictest tier — cannot be unlocked, label can't be removed or changed; a one-way door |
In-place records (lock/unlock)
SharePoint declares records in place — the file stays in its library, it isn't moved to a separate records centre. When labelled as a record:
- Edits and deletion are blocked; the version at declaration is preserved.
- A record can be locked/unlocked (except regulatory records) — unlocking is audited, so changing a record leaves a defensible trail.
- Metadata generally remains editable even when content is locked.
A file plan in Purview manages the label catalogue at scale — descriptors, citations, retention periods, and whether each label declares a record.
The disposition workflow
For labels configured with disposition review, content doesn't auto-delete at end of life — it enters a disposition review where named reviewers approve deletion (or extend/relabel). Multi-stage reviews route through successive approvers, and every decision is logged. Event-based retention starts the clock from an event (contract end, employee departure) rather than a fixed date.
The failure modes
- Regulatory records are irreversible. Declaring content a regulatory record is a one-way door — no unlock, no relabel, no deletion before term. Misapplied, it permanently freezes content and its storage. Restrict who can apply these labels.
- Records still consume storage — locked and preserved content counts against quota (and versions live in the PHL). Immutability isn't free.
- Auto-apply overreach — auto-labelling that declares records too broadly locks far more than intended; simulate before enforcing.
- Disposition pile-up — if reviewers don't act, content sits indefinitely in the review queue; disposition is only defensible if someone actually reviews.
- Unlock is powerful — for standard records, anyone with the right can unlock and edit; the audit trail is the control, so watch it.
What to watch (proofs)
- Label configuration: Purview → Records management → file plan — which labels declare records vs regulatory records, and their retention/disposition settings.
- Record status on an item: the file's compliance details / label in the library — is it locked as a record, and by which label?
- Disposition queue: Purview → Records management → Disposition — items awaiting review and how long they've waited (the pile-up signal).
- Unlock/relabel audit: the unified audit log for record lock/unlock and label change events — the defensibility trail for any record that was edited.