Formal Record Hold Investigation Form

This legal hold investigation form gives organizations a clear way to preserve evidence once a complaint, report of fraud or scam, or government inquiry triggers a duty to retain records. It identifies the Records Custodian, the Legal Hold Team Representative, and a case or contract reference number. It directs teams to describe the case, list content to preserve, and capture where it lives, whether on a file share, mailbox, backup, workstation, smartphone, mapped drive, or file cabinet. The Litigation Response Team completes the preservation method and marks whether to preserve each item, helping maintain investigative records that stand up to subpoenas, FOIA, or FOIPA records requests, and agency reporting requirements.

The form supports the complaint process from the intake interview to possible outcomes, appeal, and closure letter. By assigning a complaint number and documenting data owners, locations, and preservation steps, teams can respond to a complaint, check complaint status, and manage the submission of records across jurisdictions. It helps establish reasonable cause for a hold and aligns with recordkeeping requirements in employment cases, civil rights department inquiries, and mediation to resolve disputes. When law enforcement or an investigator is involved in a criminal case, or when you must report a crime, report fraud, identity theft, or report suspicious activity, having a defensible hold process reduces the risk of civil penalties and damages.

Use cases include educator misconduct matters requiring reporting to TEA, the state board for educator certification (SBEC), or a do-not-hire registry. District superintendents and principals can document a misconduct affidavit or fraud affidavit and track disciplinary actions. In tax return preparer cases, the form helps preserve PTIN-related data and records needed to support IRS Form 14157 filings about tax scams.

For OSHA obligations, it organizes recording and reporting of occupational injury and illness data, including recording work-related injuries on forms 300, 300A, and 301, and preparing for electronic submission via the Injury Tracking Application. It also fits internet crime complaint center submissions, when organizations contact the FBI, submit a tip, report a threat, contact your local office, navigate official government complaint flowcharts, policy changes, accessibility information, and submit an appeal.

Proposal Kit can streamline creation of this form and related materials through document assembly, automated line-item quoting for services, an AI Writer to build supporting documents, and an extensive template library. Teams can quickly produce intake forms, investigative warnings, preservation notices, and process guides with consistent wording and ease of use.

Beyond preserving data for litigation, this form supports the front end of the complaint lifecycle. Teams can make a complaint using a standardized intake form, classify it as a formal complaint, and document jurisdiction for routing. Clear fields help with filing a complaint, issuing an investigative warning, and tracking a complaint decision.

When a decision is disputed, the records captured here support appealing a complaint decision with an appeals unit. Program managers can map steps to a simple complaint flowchart and provide staff with a brief forms tutorial so they complete entries consistently. If a contact center receives the matter first, the same structure helps capture details for rapid handoff to investigators and counsel, improving case resolution timelines.

The framework scales to many situations. For internet harms, organizations may report online scams, report fraud or scams, or escalate to the Federal Bureau of Investigation when a federal crime is suspected. Child-serving entities can log reporting child abuse referrals and preserve investigative records.

K-12 districts can support investigations of misconduct by filing a misconduct complaint, with a superintendent and principal documenting actions for the do-not-hire registry and related disciplinary steps. In workplace issues, notes about reasonable accommodation requests and responses can be retained for dispute resolution or mediation. Safety managers can meet reporting to OSHA obligations by organizing OSHA recordkeeping, including recording on forms 300, 300A, and 301, and preparing electronic submission ITA packages with accurate recordkeeping forms. The same structure helps tax and finance teams document evidence when they make a complaint about identity-based tax fraud or other financial crimes.

The Proposal Kit can accelerate building these materials. Its document assembly and template library help produce intake forms, investigative warnings, appeals responses, and process guides aligned to policy. The AI Writer can write supporting narratives, while automated line-item quoting can outline service efforts for preservation and review. This enables faster, consistent documentation that supports compliance and efficient resolutions.

Additionally, the form can drive disciplined workflows that reduce delays and errors. Teams can use it to conduct custodian interviews, capture chain-of-custody details, and note specific preservation methods such as snapshots, legal hold flags in cloud platforms, or write-protected media. Clear fields support version control and link each entry to a unique complaint number, helping managers monitor case milestones from intake through case resolution.

The same structure improves data mapping across HR, IT, EHS, and Finance, so evidence tied to workplace incidents, vendor disputes, whistleblower reports, or cybersecurity events is identified quickly and preserved with reasonable cause. When safety incidents occur, the form helps align narrative facts and attachments with OSHA injury data on forms 300, 300a, and 301, supporting audits, internal reviews, and downstream electronic submissions without rework.

Organizations can also document release conditions when a hold ends, creating a traceable record that aligns with retention schedules and reduces storage risk. For high-volume operations, contact center agents can prefill basics during the first call, and investigators can expand entries during follow-up. This supports consistent reporting to OSHA, strengthens audit trails for internal policy reviews, and keeps evidence aligned to complaint flowcharts and investigative checklists. Proposal Kit can further streamline this work by assembling coordinated packets such as custodian questionnaires, hold notices, release notices, intake acknowledgments, and closure letters, while the AI Writer drafts consistent summaries and the template library standardizes recordkeeping forms and job aids.

How to write my Formal Record Hold Investigation Form document

Formal Hold Investigation Form

Current Date

Records Custodians Name: Insert name of record keeper. Legal Hold Team Representative: Insert name of representative. Case ID Number: Contract Reference Number.

Request for Legal Hold Information:

Provide the details of the case and instructions to list and identify content. Use this form to document the articles that need to be preserved as part of the litigation hold. Data Owners Name Content Description Data Collection Site (file share, mailbox, backup, workstation, smart phone, etc.) Data Custodian's - Network and or Physical Location (mapped drive, file cabinet) Preserve.

(y/n) Preservation method

Filled in by Litigation Response Team.