1. Administrative Skills
ARMA Filing Rules
Administrative Skills

2. Why have rules?

3. “The real test of an efficient records storage system is being able to find records quickly once they have been stored.”

4. 1. Why is consistency in filing so important?

5. Indexing
Determining the filing segment (or name) by which the record will be stored and retrieved.
The name most likely to be used in requesting the record is the one to be used for storage.

6. Coding
Marking the record to indicate the field (name, number, subject) by which it is to be stored.
/ between each word
Underline the key unit
Number remaining units

7. 2. Why are indexing rules important when filing names alphabetically?

8. Rule #1 Personal names Business names Surname (last name)
Given name (first name)
Middle name or initial
Business names
As written (on letterhead)
Each word is a unit

9. Remember: Nothing comes before something.
A blank space comes before a letter.
Baker / William
Bakersly / William

10. Rule #2 – Minor Words and Symbols in Business Names
Articles: a, an, the
Prepositions: to, at, on, of, for
Conjunctions: and, but, or, nor
Symbols: &, %, $

11. Are separate indexing units
Symbols indexed as if spelled out
“The” as the first word is considered the last unit.

12. Rule #3 Punctuation All punctuation marks are disregarded
Names are indexed as written
Doggydaycare.com is indexed as
doggydaycarecom

13. Rule #4 – Single Letters and Abbreviations
Initials in personal names are separate units
Nicknames are indexed as written
Business acronyms and abbreviations are indexed as written

14. Rule #5
A title before a name, a seniority suffix, or professional suffix after a name is the last indexing unit.
Numbers are filed before alphabetic suffixes.
Royal and religious titles followed by surname only are indexed as written.

15. Business names --- titles are indexed as written.

16. Rule #6 Prefixes – Articles and Particles
“A,” “an,” or “the” in another
language used as part of a
person’s name
De La Hoya
D’Agostino
Le Fleur

17. Mac or Mc
Von, Van, Von der, Van der O’
Saint, St., San, etc.
Ten, Ter, Te
All are combined with the name
that follows to form a single unit.
Punctuation and spaces are disregarded.

18. Rule #7 – Numbers in Business Names
Numbers written as digits are filed before letters or words.
Numbers spelled out are filed alphabetically.
Digits are filed ascending.
Arabic numbers before Roman numerals.
Disregard ordinal suffixes (rd, nd, etc.)

19. Rule #8 – Organizations and Institutions
Organizations and institutions are indexed and filed according to the names written on their letterheads.
1st National Bank = 1/ National/ Bank
St. Vincent’s Medical Center =
StVincents/ Medical/ Center

20. Rule #9 – Identical Names
If two people or organizations have identical names, filing order is determined by address.
City name
State or province names
Street names
House or building numbers

21. Rule #10 – Government Names
Indexed first by the name of the governmental unit.
Indexed next by the distinctive departmental name

22. The first three
indexing units of a
U.S. federal agency
are:
United
States
Government
(always!)

23. State and local government: the first indexing units are the names of the state, town, county, etc.
Next, index the most distinctive departmental/unit name.

24. Foreign government agencies are indexed by the first distinctive English name, then by the rest of the official government name, then by divisions of the government.

25. Cross-References Personal Names Unusual Names Hyphenated Surnames
Kim David could also be David Kim
Cross reference as:
David Kim
See Kim David
Hyphenated Surnames
Mary Jones-Stamford needs a cross-reference as:
Stamford Mary Jones
See JonesStamford, Mary

26. Alternate Names
When an individual uses more than one name, such as a professional name (DBA, AKA)
Mrs. Jennifer Reed in private life is Ms. Jennifer Jackson in professional life.
Jackson Jennifer Ms.
See also: Reed Jennifer Mrs.

27. Names with multiple spellings
Jason Snyder
Snider
See also: Snyder, Shneider

28. Business Names Compound Names Jasper, Nilson, and Fister, CPAs
should be cross referenced under each name.
Nilson, Fister and Jasper, CPAs
See Jasper, Nilson, and Fister, CPAs

29. Acronyms and abbreviations
NELA should be cross referenced:
Northwest Educational Loan Association
See NELA

30. Popular or Coined Names
Spokane Falls Community College should be cross-referenced:
SFCC
see Spokane Falls Community College