Regulated entities

Public entities are obliged to transfer their archive for permanent preservation to a public archive according to Article 14(4) of Act No. 77/2014 on Public Archives. There it states:

Furthermore, Article 15 of the Act stipulates that “Records covered by an obligation of transfer must be transferred to a public archive when they have reached an age of 30 years. However, electronic records and other materials in electronic form shall, as a general rule, be transferred no later than when they are five years old. In both cases, the date of reference shall be that of the last entry made or the last correspondence registered in a closed case. As regards indices, the deadline shall be counted from the end of the year in which the last entry was made in the relevant index. Entities subject to an obligation of transfer shall retain responsibility for handling and granting access to information from electronic records until the records are 30 years old .”

Articles 22-24 of the Law No. 77/2014 on Public Archives state the responsibilities of the entities subject to an obligation of transfer.. Article 22 (1) states that the director of an entity subject to an obligation of transfer is responsible for the record management and archiving activities of the entity, including for ensuring compliance with relevant legislative and regulatory provisions. The same applies to the Chairs of Administrative Boards and municipal administrators, as well as to the directors of funds foundations and other entities falling under this Act pursuant to Article 14.

Entities subject to an obligation of transfer must use arrangements for records management and archiving which are consistent with the rules laid down on the basis of Article 23, and must preserve case files in a manner that allows them to be accessed in accordance with those rules. Article 22(4) states that the entities shall take appropriate measures to protect the records of entities from unlawful destruction, alteration and unauthorized access. Article 24 states that it is illegal to destroy or dispose of any records in the archives of entities except on the basis of a decision by the National Archivist, rules laid down pursuant to either Article 23 or the second paragraph of this Article, or a special provision of law.

On the basis of the Act No. 77/2014 on public archives, the National Archives of Iceland has laid down rules on the arrangements to be used for records management and archiving by administrative entities.

Lists of entities obliged to transfer records to the National Archives of Iceland are published here. Lists are arranged according to the definition in Article 14(1) and (2) of the Act on Public Archives. Please note that the lists are not exhaustive. If doubts arise regarding the obligation to transfer, contact the National Archives of Iceland.