The Legality of Digital Images Explained.

In an increasingly demanding regulatory environment, an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) can help organizations ensure compliance with record retention and destruction schedules by managing digital image copies scanned from the original paper documents.

In making the decision to convert paper documents to digital images, the legality of scanned copies is often a concern. A third party study conducted by Cohasset Associates addresses this issue and outlines best practices for implementing successful content management solutions.

Generally, for an imaged document to qualify as a legal record, the following must be true:

• Documents must be stored on unalterable media
• The system must have controls to ensure integrity, accuracy, and reliability
• The system must include an audit trail to track creation, alteration and deletion of records
• A complete and accurate transfer of records must be possible
• The system must have controls to prevent and detect deterioration of records
• There must be an indexing system to assist with record retrieval
• The system must have the ability to print records
• The system must be able to cross-reference other record-keeping systems and software
• The system must include documentation on how the software works and how it is set up

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