How long should a company retain contracts and financial documents?
There is no single period: retention requirements depend on jurisdiction and document type. Common anchors: accounting and financial records must typically be kept 6 to 10 years (10 in much of the EU, commonly 7 in US practice) while contracts are usually retained for their full term plus 5 to 10 years, covering the limitation period for claims. The reliable approach is a retention schedule per document type, applied automatically by your document management system, with documented, defensible disposal at the end.











