State Government Agencies
State government agencies in North Carolina include those in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The executive agencies are the most numerous, including the offices of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor, the departments administered by those elected to the Council of State, agencies overseen by gubernatorial appointees, other executive departments, independent executive agencies, and occupational licensing boards. These organizations, along with any entities with whom they contract to perform the public business, are subject to the requirements of North Carolina’s Public Records Act (G.S. 132).
Jump to Functional Schedule PDFs
Since 2017, all state agencies have used the Functional Schedule for North Carolina State Agencies to identify the appropriate disposition of their records. The Functional Schedule is divided into 16 functions of state government, and these schedules standardize disposition instructions across state government. The Records Analysis Unit conducts annual records reviews with state agencies and documents any changes in agency responsibilities.
The Functional Schedule for North Carolina State Agencies is an agreement between state agencies and the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), serving as the inventory and schedule that DNCR is directed to provide by G.S. 121-5(c) and G.S. 132-8. The schedule must be approved annually by the individual agency before it can be used to authorize the destruction of public records. If you have any questions about whether your agency has approved the current schedule, please contact your Records Management Analyst.
If you have records that you cannot find in the Functional Schedule for North Carolina State Agencies, please contact your Records Management Analyst. The analyst will help determine whether there is an existing item on the schedule that specifies the disposition; if the records are not represented on the current schedule and are actively being maintained, the analyst can help you submit a Records Series Evaluation Form.