Retention Agreement Form

Use a Retention Agreement Template template to make your document workflow more streamlined.

What a Retention Agreement Form does

A Retention Agreement Form records the parties’ agreement about keeping specified business records for a defined purpose or period. It identifies the parties, covered records, retention responsibilities, access conditions, and effective dates. In signNow, the sender uploads the form, reviews detected fillable fields, assigns fields to each signer, and sends the document electronically. Signers review the terms, provide consent, and sign. The completed PDF and audit trail preserve the transaction history, while the organization remains responsible for applying the retention period required by its contract, industry rules, and applicable U.S. law.

Legal services

Legal departments use Retention Agreement Forms to document record custody, access limits, and preservation duties for client or corporate agreements.

Regulated operations

Healthcare, finance, construction, and real-estate teams use them when agreements contain records subject to contractual or industry-specific retention controls.

How the form workflow works

The Retention Agreement Form moves from document preparation to signer review, completion, and auditable storage in four defined stages.

Upload: Upload the Retention Agreement Form.
Detect fields: signNow detects fields for completion.
Send: Send assigned fields to signers.
Store: Store the signed form and audit trail.

Complete the form in signNow

Use this workflow to prepare, sign, and preserve the Retention Agreement Form without losing its transaction history.

Upload form:
Upload the Retention Agreement Form PDF.
Check fields:
Review detected fields and add missing ones.
Assign signers:
Assign each field to the correct signer.
Send form:
Send the agreement for electronic signature.
Preserve record:
Store the signed PDF with its audit trail.

be ready to get more

Get legally-binding signatures now!

Start free trial

Request a call

Best ROI. Our customers achieve an average 7x ROI within the first six months.
Scales with your use cases. From SMBs to mid-market, airSlate SignNow delivers results for businesses of all sizes.
Intuitive UI and API. Sign and send documents from your apps in minutes.

Authenticate signer:

Records the authentication event and signer identifier.

Capture timestamp:

Captures the exact time and transaction activity.

Hash document:

Applies a document hash to detect later changes.

Seal record:

Seals the completed record against unauthorized alteration.

Build audit trail:

Links actions, fields, and signer events chronologically.

Export evidence:

Allows completed records and history to be retrieved or exported.

Field detection

Upload the Retention Agreement Form and review detected fields before assigning completion and signature responsibilities to each party.

Signer routing

Send only the fields assigned to each signer, reducing confusion about who must provide information or sign the agreement.

Audit trail

Capture signer actions, timestamps, and document history so the completed Retention Agreement Form has supporting transaction evidence.

Mobile signing

Let authorized parties review and sign from desktop or mobile devices without requiring paper routing for the agreement.

System integrations

Connect completed agreements with systems such as Salesforce, NetSuite, Google Drive, Box, or Procore for controlled business workflows.

Data protection

Protect agreement data with TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO 27001 controls.

Security for retention agreements

Transport encryption:

TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit

Storage encryption:

AES-256 at rest

Security reporting:

SOC 2 Type II certified

Information security:

ISO 27001 certified

Health data:

HIPAA compliant with BAA

Electronic signatures:

ESIGN and UETA compliant

Connect retention agreements to business systems

Route completed Retention Agreement Forms through signNow integrations for customer records, finance systems, document repositories, and operational workflows.

Platform requirements for signing

Complete the Retention Agreement Form in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge on Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android using a TLS 1.2 or 1.3 connection.

Browser support Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
Operating systems Windows 11, macOS, iOS, and Android
Secure connection TLS 1.2 or 1.3 connection

Organizations using managed devices should permit document uploads, signer email delivery, and access to completed PDFs. Enterprise deployments may also configure API access, SSO provisioning, and certificate or long-term validation settings according to internal records policies.

Retention periods for related records

The Retention Agreement Form should identify the rule governing its records; these periods apply only when the associated record class and authority actually fit.

Six years for HIPAA records

HIPAA sets six years from creation or the last effective date for covered records.

Three years for tax records

Federal tax records generally use three years from filing under IRC §6501(a), subject to stated exceptions.

Six years for larger understatements

An income understatement exceeding 25% extends the federal tax period to six years under IRC §6501(a).

Three years for payroll records

FLSA payroll records require three years under 29 CFR §516.5.

Five years for injury records

OSHA injury records require five years following the year covered under 29 CFR §1904.33.

Best practices for retaining agreements

Use the Retention Agreement Form as a controlled record: define its scope, preserve evidence of signing, and align its duration with the governing rule.

State the retention obligation precisely

Define the covered records, responsible parties, access permissions, effective date, and retention trigger directly in the Retention Agreement Form. Avoid relying on a separate policy that signers cannot review, because ambiguity can complicate later enforcement or records-management decisions.

Preserve the signed record and trail

Keep the completed form and signNow audit trail together. The audit trail documents signer activity, timestamps, and transaction history, while the signed PDF preserves the agreed terms. Restrict both records to authorized personnel and prevent uncontrolled local copies.

Apply the governing retention rule

Apply the rule that actually governs the records rather than assigning one universal period. For protected health information, HIPAA requires six years from creation or the last effective date under 45 CFR §164.530(j). State law may require longer.

Version amendments transparently

Review the Retention Agreement Form when parties, systems, or record categories change. Update the agreement through a new signed version and preserve the prior version so the organization can show which terms applied at each time.

Challenges with retention agreements

Unclear retention periods can leave signed agreements inaccessible when a contract dispute, audit, or regulatory request requires supporting records.
Missing signer identity details, dates, or agreement terms can weaken the evidence needed to establish who accepted the retention arrangement.
Paper-based routing creates duplicate versions, delayed approvals, and uncertainty about which signed Retention Agreement Form controls.
Storing the agreement without its audit trail can make later review harder because the signature event lacks supporting transaction history.

Retention Agreement Form troubleshooting

These answers address signing, authentication, compliance, plan, and record-preservation questions specific to this form.

Business includes legally binding eSignatures, templates, audit trails, mobile apps, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 Type II. Confirm that the signer’s consent, intent, identity, and the completed record are preserved for the agreement’s stated purpose.

Business Premium adds bulk send and kiosk mode. Use it when the same Retention Agreement Form must be distributed repeatedly or signed in person on a shared device. The Business plan does not include bulk send according to the plan details.

Enterprise adds advanced signer authentication, including stronger controls for identity-sensitive workflows. Review whether the agreement’s parties require enhanced verification, then configure authentication before sending rather than relying only on an email link.

signNow is ESIGN and UETA compliant, but compliance does not replace the agreement’s legal requirements. Confirm intent, consent, attribution, accurate reproduction, and any state-law or industry-specific retention duty before relying on the completed form.

HIPAA applies only when the Retention Agreement Form handles protected health information in a covered workflow. signNow lists HIPAA compliance with a BAA requirement; execute the BAA and apply the organization’s six-year rule under 45 CFR §164.530(j) when applicable.

A signed PDF without its audit trail may omit evidence about timestamps, signer activity, and document history. Export and retain both records together, then restrict access according to the agreement and your organization’s records policy.

28M+Documents signed

13+Years in business

4.6/5Average G2 rating

BE READY TO GET MORE

Get this form now!

If you believe that this page should be taken down, please follow our DMCA take-down process.