How Long Should Your HOA Keep Meeting Minutes?

Every HOA accumulates documents over time: meeting minutes, financial records, contracts, correspondence. But how long should you actually keep these records? The answer depends on your state laws, your governing documents, and the type of record.

Get it wrong, and you could face legal exposure. Destroy records too soon, and you might not have documentation when you need it. Keep everything forever, and you're drowning in paper (or storage costs) with potential discovery liability.

Here's what boards and managers need to know about HOA document retention.

Meeting Minutes: The Short Answer

Keep meeting minutes permanently.

Meeting minutes are among the few HOA documents that should never be destroyed. They're the official legal record of board decisions and serve as evidence that proper procedures were followed. Even decades later, minutes might be needed to:

• Verify when a policy was adopted
• Confirm the authority for an assessment increase
• Document the history of a rule or restriction
• Defend against claims of improper procedure

General Retention Guidelines

While minutes are permanent, other documents have varying retention requirements:

Document Type	Retention Period
Meeting minutes	Permanent
Governing documents (CC&Rs, bylaws, articles)	Permanent
Financial statements & audits	Permanent
Tax returns	Permanent
Contracts (after expiration)	7-10 years
Insurance policies (after expiration)	Permanent (for claims)
Bank statements	7 years
Invoices and receipts	7 years
Personnel records	7 years after termination
Violation notices	7 years
Architectural requests	Permanent (approval) / 7 years (denial)
General correspondence	3-5 years

State-Specific Requirements

Many states have specific laws governing HOA record retention. For example:

• California requires associations to maintain minutes and other records for at least 12 years
• Florida requires official records be maintained for at least 7 years (with some permanent)
• Texas requires books and records be maintained for at least 4 years
• Virginia requires minutes and other records be available for inspection but doesn't specify retention periods

Always check your state's HOA statute and consult with your association's attorney for specific requirements.

Why Statute of Limitations Matters

One reason for the 7-year guideline on many documents: most states have statutes of limitations between 3-6 years for contract disputes and other claims. Keeping records for 7 years provides a buffer beyond when most claims could be filed.

However, some claims (like those related to construction defects or fraud) can have longer limitation periods, which is why certain documents should be kept permanently.

Digital vs. Paper Storage

Most states now accept digital records as legally equivalent to paper, as long as they're:

• Accessible – Can be retrieved and read when needed
• Authentic – Can be verified as unaltered originals
• Complete – Include all pages and attachments
• Backed up – Protected against loss

Digital storage is generally more practical for long-term retention. Just ensure you have backup systems and that file formats will remain readable over time (PDF/A is recommended for archival documents).

Creating a Retention Policy

Every HOA should have a written document retention policy that specifies:

1. What documents are kept and for how long
2. How documents are stored (physical location, digital systems)
3. Who is responsible for maintaining records
4. How and when documents are destroyed
5. Procedures for litigation holds (suspending destruction when claims arise)

The policy should be approved by the board and reviewed periodically with your attorney.

The Bottom Line

Meeting minutes are permanent records. Treat them accordingly—both in how long you keep them and in how they're created in the first place. Poorly documented minutes that are kept forever are still poor documentation.

For other records, when in doubt, keep it longer. Storage is cheap compared to the cost of not having a document when you need it.