1. Plan before changing access
Arrange a review with records, governance, communications and IT staff. Do not assume that a personally owned or campaign account should transfer to the next office holder.
Record the office, account scope, outgoing/incoming responsible roles and planned change date.
For each account record URL, ownership, purpose, administrators, recovery owner and proposed destination. Never record passwords.
Ask records staff to identify the applicable authority, any restrictions or holds and who may approve disposal. Do not choose a default retention period.
2. Preserve and verify
A file download is a starting point. Have the receiving team check that the required material and context can be used.
Record dates, content types, source accounts and what is unavailable. Confirm coverage with the relevant provider or records team.
Record storage reference, receiving owner, transfer date and retrieval check result.
Record missing context, impact, owner and follow-up date.
3. Complete the transition
Change access only in the agreed order and with the appropriate authority.
Record case references, responsible team and next action without copying personal case contents.
Record tested incoming access, approved outgoing-access changes and any public account notice.
Record receiving owner, outgoing owner, records reviewer, date and conditions.
4. Confirm the local records workflow
Complete this with the city clerk or records officer. Keep the policy references and review decisions with the pack.
Identify the state, city/county or other public body, responsible records custodian and approved request channel.
Record the applicable schedule title/version and classification decision. Ask the authorized reviewer whether any request, dispute or hold affects proposed deletion.
Agree a sample date range, account, conversation and export. Record who checks completeness and who reviews material before release.
Identify who resolves mixed personal/official account use and disputed moderation decisions. Record approval and unresolved questions; do not infer permission from this checklist.
Completion checklist
Record evidence or an open action beside each item. A checked list is not legal approval.
Before using this pack
This original working aid supports discussion and documentation. It does not replace your policies, legal advice, retention authority or an authorized decision. No fixed retention period or universal permission to remove content is supplied.
Start with your state and office
Confirm the applicable public-records process, retention schedule and account-use policy with your city clerk, records officer or counsel. Federal guidance does not determine local requirements.
Explore Brolly’s guides for all 50 states and follow the official sources for your jurisdiction.
Washington: social media records
Use the state archives guidance to discuss capture and records-management responsibilities with your team. This reference applies to Washington.
Florida: public-records management
Use the state handbook to identify records-management questions for your office. Confirm the applicable schedule and procedures with the records custodian; do not apply Florida requirements to another state.
Federal offices: transition guidance
For federal context, consult NARA’s guidance for political appointees and senior officials. Local offices should use their own state and agency requirements.