What is chain of custody in the context of records management?

• A. The documented, auditable trail showing who handled a record, when, and how.
• B. A policy for deleting records after use.
• C. The process of determining who created a record.
• D. A method to encrypt records during transit.

Answer: (A)

Chain of custody is the documented, auditable trail showing who handled a record, when, and how. This trail covers every transfer or action on the record—from creation or receipt, through storage, access, modification, and eventual disposition. The strength of this concept is that it preserves authenticity and integrity: by knowing exactly who touched the record, when, and what was done, you can detect tampering, verify that the current version is legitimate, and demonstrate compliance in audits or legal proceedings. For digital records, this includes logs of access, version histories, hash verifications, and transfers between storage locations, all tied to timestamps and responsible individuals. In short, it provides accountability and supports admissibility because any change can be traced to a specific person and time. The other choices describe related ideas in records management but not the tracking of custody: a retention/destruction policy governs when records are deleted, identifying the creator concerns authorship, and encrypting during transit is about protecting data in transit rather than tracking its custody.