Plan for retention and disposition with retention labels

Retention labels let you define how long to keep content and when to delete it, helping your organization meet legal, regulatory, and business requirements. When used strategically, they help ensure content is kept for the right amount of time. They also support proper disposal when the content is no longer needed.

Use cases for retention labels

Retention labels are useful when:

• Different types of content require different retention periods.
• You need to apply retention at the file, email, or item level.
• You want to allow users to apply labels manually or automatically based on metadata or conditions.
• You need to trigger a disposition review before permanent deletion.
• Regulatory or legal policies require a consistent labeling strategy to prove retention compliance.

Label planning considerations

When planning retention labels, consider:

• Content types: Define which documents, emails, or records require retention. Group them by business function, regulatory requirement, or information type.
• Retention period: Determine how long to keep each type of content. Consider legal hold periods, industry requirements, and organizational needs.
• Start of retention: Choose whether retention begins when content is created, modified, labeled, or tied to an event.
• Disposition method:
  • Silent deletion
  • Deletion with disposition review
• Manual or automatic labeling: Decide if users should apply labels manually or if you'll use auto-labeling policies to apply them at scale.

Common disposition patterns

• Project-based content: Retain content for a fixed period after a project ends using event-based labels, often combined with disposition reviews.
• Employee records: Retain items based on hire or termination dates.
• Contracts: Retain content for a set number of years, then delete after disposition review.

Retention labels provide granular control over how information is managed, retained, and disposed of. A well-planned label strategy helps your organization meet regulatory obligations while supporting operational efficiency.