Keep the paper original when a document proves identity, citizenship, ownership, authority, or an executed legal act; has a seal, security feature, notarization, or wet signature; is hard to replace; or may have historical value. A scan is still useful for reference and recovery, but it does not automatically have the same legal or evidentiary role. Destroy paper only after checking the issuer, receiving institution, contract, and applicable law.
Scope: This is a conservative household-records framework, not legal advice for a particular document or jurisdiction. Sources were reviewed on .
The safest decision rule
Ask four questions before discarding an original:
- Will someone require the original or a certified copy? A phone scan usually is neither.
- Does the paper carry evidence the image cannot fully reproduce? Examples include an embossed seal, security paper, ink signature, attached notarization, or alteration marks.
- How difficult is replacement? Time, fees, identity checks, and unavailable issuers all raise the cost of destruction.
- Does the object itself matter? Family letters, photographs, certificates, and annotated records can have value beyond their words.
If any answer is uncertain, keep the paper and use the scan as a working copy.
Documents that usually deserve original retention
Identity, citizenship, and civil-status records
Keep valid passports, birth and adoption records, Social Security cards, citizenship or residency papers, marriage records, and similar government-issued documents securely. The current FTC household-record guidance places these in its “keep forever and lock up” group.
Replacement procedures show why a scan is not a substitute. USAGov directs people to issuing agencies and notes that replacement processes often require official identity evidence. The Social Security Administration says to keep the card in a safe place, not routinely carry or copy it, and not laminate it because lamination can obscure security features.
Executed legal and ownership records
Keep originals of wills, powers of attorney, deeds, titles, active leases, settlement papers, court orders, notarized instruments, and signed agreements when the original may be needed to prove execution or authority. Requirements vary. Confirm with the lawyer, court, registry, lender, insurer, or other institution that will rely on the document before destroying it.
Irreplaceable family and archival material
The US National Archives advises keeping family originals after digitization because digital files have their own preservation risks. Preserve photographs, letters, certificates, journals, and annotations when the physical item carries context or history.
Paper you may be able to replace with verified digital records
Routine statements, bills, receipts, and downloaded confirmations often do not need permanent paper storage when you have a complete, readable, retrievable digital record and no separate rule requires the original. The retention period still depends on what the record supports.
For US federal tax records, IRS Revenue Procedure 97-22 addresses electronic storage systems. It emphasizes complete and accurate transfer, indexing, integrity controls, retrieval, and readable reproduction. It does not turn every quick photo into an adequate record or decide requirements imposed by state law, a contract, a warranty, a regulator, or an insurer.
Use the detailed digital-receipt guide for tax records. For bills and statements, confirm that the downloaded file includes every page, date, account reference, and transaction needed to understand it later.
A practical original-plus-scan workflow
- Inventory before scanning. Group identity, legal, property, tax, medical, insurance, and family records.
- Capture the complete object. Scan fronts, backs, attachments, envelopes, seals, and handwritten notes when relevant.
- Inspect at full size. Check names, numbers, dates, signatures, fine print, and cropped edges.
- Name by meaning. Use a stable pattern such as
2026-07-14_document_subject.pdf. - Separate access from preservation. Keep a convenient PDF for daily use and the physical original in secure storage.
- Back up and restore-test. A sync icon is not proof that a file can be recovered.
- Shred deliberately. When disposal is appropriate, destroy personal and financial information rather than placing readable pages in household waste.
Where ScanLens fits
ScanLens can create PDF or image access copies on iPhone and performs OCR on-device. It cannot decide whether the paper has legal, evidentiary, historical, or contractual value. Keep that decision separate from the quality of the scan.
For the capture process, see how to digitize paper documents and how to organize the resulting files. Check the current ScanLens App Store listing before relying on a product feature.
When the rule gets tested
The rule sounds abstract until a counter clerk is holding your printout. Someone asks for your birth certificate at a passport appointment, or a lender wants the marriage certificate for a name change, or a registry wants the deed itself. A perfect scan is the wrong object in all three rooms, and not because it is unreadable. Even a capture made properly, the way digitizing paper documents describes, fails there, because what is being checked is the paper itself: its seal, its security features, the fact that a specific office issued it. That is the whole test. Before you shred anything, ask which institution might one day want to hold it, and let their answer decide.
Bottom line
Keep originals by default when authenticity, certification, replacement difficulty, or physical history matters. Digitize them for access and recovery, but do not treat a successful scan as a destruction authorization. For replaceable routine records, verify completeness, retention, backup, and the receiving party’s rules before shredding.
