National Archives of Iceland
Significant progress in records management at municipal offices and a substantial increase in the volume of paper documents
4th November 2025
A new report on records preservation and management at municipal offices that are required to submit documents to the National Archives of Iceland shows that records management has steadily improved and compliance with regulations has significantly increased in recent years. However, the volume of paper documents subject to submission has grown considerably. The development of electronic records management at municipal offices is slow but steady.
The National Archives of Iceland has published a report with findings from its monitoring survey of records preservation and management at 19 municipal offices that are legally required to submit documents to the National Archives. The survey was conducted in February and March of this year. Municipalities that are not part of a regional archives are subject to submission requirements to the National Archives and are therefore monitored under the law on public archives. This is the third time the survey has been conducted.
The main conclusion of the report is that municipal offices have made significant progress in records management. This is most evident when their status is assessed using the maturity levels of records preservation and management—a measurement tool for how well entities meet legal, regulatory, and procedural requirements. The results show that 93% of municipal offices are at maturity levels 2 and 3, which are considered standard and professional levels of records preservation and management. In comparison, 20% of municipal offices were at level 0 in 2017—the lowest maturity level—and 19% in 2021, but none this time. Furthermore, the proportion of offices at level 3, representing professional records preservation and management, has increased from 7% in 2017 to 53% in 2025. This development clearly shows that records management at municipal offices is continuously improving year by year.
The report also notes that municipal offices have taken many steps toward electronic records preservation. However, efforts are needed in reporting electronic data repositories in the coming months to ensure the delivery and long-term preservation of data. It is noted that there has been a setback in the preservation of email at municipal offices, with 67% stating they preserve emails in a meaningful way, compared to 88% in 2021.
There is also a widespread lack of necessary oversight of records management through approved records retention schedules and classification systems, and the volume of paper documents subject to submission has increased significantly since the last monitoring survey. It is estimated that approximately 13,200 shelf meters of paper documents are currently preserved by municipal offices subject to submission requirements, compared to 2,444 shelf meters in 2021. This increase is primarily due to two municipalities with extensive administrations—Reykjavík City and Kópavogur—becoming subject to submission requirements to the National Archives in 2023. It is therefore expected that the volume of paper documents from municipalities submitted to the National Archives will multiply in the coming years.
The results of the survey will serve as the basis for further monitoring by the National Archives of Iceland to improve records preservation and management at municipal offices.
The municipalities subject to submission requirements to the National Archives of Iceland are: Árneshreppur, Eyja- og Miklaholtshreppur, Garðabær, Grindavíkurbær, Grundarfjarðarbær, Hafnarfjarðarkaupstaður, Kaldrananeshreppur, Kjósarhreppur, Kópavogsbær, Reykhólahreppur, Reykjanesbær, Reykjavíkurborg, Seltjarnarnesbær, Snæfellsbær, Strandabyggð, Suðurnesjabær, Sveitarfélagið Stykkishólmur, Sveitarfélagið Vogar, and Vesturbyggð.
The report can be accessed here: