What must be confirmed before disposing of records?

The correct answer highlights the importance of verifying that records are no longer needed and that their disposal adheres to the established retention schedule. This adherence ensures compliance with legal, regulatory, and organizational policies regarding record-keeping. A retention schedule outlines how long different types of records should be retained based on their administrative, legal, and historical value.

Before disposal, confirming the records' status in relation to their retention schedule ensures that essential documents are not discarded prematurely, which could result in loss of information that may be necessary for audits, legal proceedings, or organizational history. It also protects the organization by ensuring it is not in violation of any laws regarding record retention.

Other choices do not capture the necessity of compliance with established records management policies. For instance, records being scanned into a digital format does not automatically mean that they are ready for disposal if they are still needed or required to be retained as specified in the retention schedule. The idea that records are ultimately useless is subjective and does not fulfill the requirement for systematic disposal based on established guidelines. Similarly, simply stating that records have not been referenced in a lengthy period does not account for their potential future relevance or legal requirements for retention.