Candidate data retention policy template for recruiting teams
On this page
A candidate data retention policy says what your team keeps about applicants, where, for how long, and how it is deleted. It has to satisfy two pressures at once: record-keeping rules that set minimum periods, such as the one-year federal floor in 29 CFR 1602.14 and California's four years, and privacy rules that forbid keeping personal data longer than needed. The template below gives you a schedule by category, legal hold rules, deletion steps and the reasoning for each default, so you can adapt it rather than start from nothing.
For the detailed rules behind each minimum period, see how long to keep interview notes. This page is the policy you write once you know them.
This is not legal advice. The periods and sources below were checked against the linked regulations and statutes as of September 2026. Retention obligations depend on employer size, location, government contracts, industry and whether a claim is pending. Have HR or employment counsel set the final numbers.
The rules that set the numbers
| Rule | What it requires | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Federal EEO recordkeeping | Hiring records kept one year from the record or the personnel action, whichever is later; relevant records kept until final disposition once a charge is filed | 29 CFR 1602.14 |
| Age discrimination recordkeeping | Applications, resumes and related records kept one year from the personnel action | 29 CFR 1627.3(b)(1) |
| Federal contractors | Two years for contractors with 150 or more employees and a contract of at least $150,000; one year otherwise | 41 CFR 60-1.12 |
| California | Applications and applicant personnel files kept at least four years | Gov. Code § 12946 |
| Colorado | Personnel and employment records kept at least five years | SB 23-172 (POWR Act) |
| California privacy | Disclose retention per category, and do not keep data longer than reasonably necessary for the disclosed purpose | Civ. Code § 1798.100(a)(3) |
| UK and EU GDPR | Storage limitation: keep data no longer than necessary, and state the period or criteria in the privacy notice | GDPR Art. 5(1)(e), 13(2)(a) |
| Illinois AI video interviews | Delete AI-analyzed video interviews within 30 days of the applicant's request, and instruct recipients to delete copies | 820 ILCS 42/15 |
| Illinois biometrics | A written, public schedule destroying biometric data when the purpose is satisfied or within three years of the last interaction, whichever is first | 740 ILCS 14/15(a) |
Two principles follow. Pick the longest minimum that applies to any location you hire in and use it everywhere, because running several schedules at once is how records get destroyed early by mistake. And set a maximum as well as a minimum, because the privacy rules make "keep everything forever" a violation of its own.
The policy template
Replace the brackets. The default periods assume a US employer covered by Title VII that hires in California; change them to match your own analysis.
CANDIDATE DATA RETENTION POLICY
[Organization] · Owner: [role] · Approved by: [role] · Last reviewed: [date]
1. PURPOSE
This policy sets how long we keep information about job applicants and
candidates, where it may be stored, and how it is deleted. It applies to
everyone involved in hiring, including hiring managers, interviewers,
recruiters, agency partners acting for us, and our service providers.
2. SCOPE
"Candidate data" means any record about an applicant or candidate who has not
become an employee, in any format and location, including: applications and
resumes; sourcing notes and messages; interview notes (typed, handwritten or
in personal notebooks); scorecards and debrief notes; interview transcripts
and recordings; assessment results; reference checks; offer correspondence;
voluntary equal opportunity data; and accommodation requests.
3. RETENTION SCHEDULE
See the schedule table (Appendix A). Periods run from the LATER of the date
the record was made and the date of the hiring decision for the role.
4. WHERE CANDIDATE DATA MAY BE KEPT
Approved locations: [ATS], [interview tool], [HR drive folder].
Not approved: personal email, personal cloud storage, personal devices other
than [approved tools], chat messages as the only record of an assessment.
Interviewers move notes into [ATS] within [2 business days] and then delete
local copies, except where the approved tool keeps them locally by design.
5. MINIMIZE WHAT WE CREATE
We do not create records we do not need. Audio or video recordings are made
only when [criteria], with the candidate's agreement. Where a transcript
serves the purpose, we do not keep audio.
6. DELETION
At the end of each period, data is deleted from every approved location,
including backups on their normal rotation, and our service providers are
instructed to delete their copies. Deletion is logged (Appendix B).
Anonymized statistics may be kept.
7. LEGAL HOLDS
When a charge, lawsuit, complaint, investigation or credible threat is
received or reasonably anticipated, [HR / counsel] issues a written hold
naming the roles, candidates and dates. All deletion of covered records stops,
including automatic deletion, until the hold is lifted in writing.
8. CANDIDATE REQUESTS
Requests to access or delete data go to [privacy contact] and are handled
under our candidate request procedure. Deletion requests are balanced
against the retention minimums and any legal hold.
9. TALENT POOL
Candidates are kept in our talent pool only [with their agreement / under our
notice], for [period], renewed only if they confirm they want to stay.
10. REVIEW
[Owner] reviews this policy and the schedule every [12 months] and when laws
or tools change.Appendix A: the retention schedule
| Category | Examples | Default period | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applications and resumes (not hired) | Application form, resume, cover letter | [4 years] | California's four-year minimum; federal floor is one year |
| Interview notes and scorecards | Notes, ratings, debrief summaries | [4 years] | Records "having to do with hiring"; evidence for the decision |
| Interview transcripts | Text of screens and interviews | [4 years] if kept as the interview record | Same status as notes once created |
| Audio and video recordings | Call or video files | [Delete once a transcript and scorecard exist, unless required] | Minimize; check with counsel first that the transcript can serve as the record |
| AI-analyzed video interviews (Illinois roles) | One-way video with AI analysis | [Schedule], and within 30 days of a request | 820 ILCS 42/15 |
| Biometric data | Voiceprints, face geometry | [Avoid collecting]; if collected, first of purpose satisfied or 3 years | 740 ILCS 14/15(a) |
| Voluntary EEO data | Self-identification forms | [4 years], kept separately from the hiring file | Needed for adverse impact analysis; not seen by decision-makers |
| Accommodation requests | Requests and responses | [4 years], kept confidential and separate | Named in 29 CFR 1602.14 |
| Automated-decision data | Scores, rankings, inputs to any automated tool | [4 years] | California's rules for automated-decision systems require four years |
| Talent pool records | Profiles kept for future roles | [12 to 24 months], renewable on confirmation | Must match what the privacy notice says |
| Hired candidates | Everything above | Moves to the employee file | Employee retention rules take over |
| UK and EU candidates | All categories | [6 to 12 months] after the role is filled, documented | No fixed period; justify against the time limit for claims |
Appendix B: a deletion log
Date | Role / requisition | Categories deleted | Systems | Vendors instructed | By
-----|--------------------|--------------------|---------|--------------------|---
| | | | |A deletion log proves the schedule runs routinely. That matters if you are ever accused of deleting a particular candidate's file because of a complaint.
Where retention policies fail in practice
- Copies outside the system. Notebooks, downloaded resumes, email attachments and chat threads outlive the ATS purge. The policy only works if interviewers know where notes must go.
- Vendor defaults. Meeting platforms and note-takers keep recordings on their own schedules. Check each tool's settings; for Zoom, see Zoom recording retention settings.
- Holds that never reach the tools. A hold issued by email does nothing if an automatic purge still runs. Name the person who switches it off.
- Notices that do not match. Your candidate privacy notice must state the same periods. See the GDPR candidate privacy notice template and the CCPA applicant notice.
- Talent pools that grow forever. A pool without an expiry date is the most common way retention periods quietly become indefinite.
Retention and access requests are two halves of the same process: you cannot answer a request for data you cannot find, and you should not be producing data your policy says was deleted. The request side is covered in candidate data access requests.
Questions people ask
How long should we keep data about rejected candidates?
In the US the federal floor for covered employers is one year from the record or the hiring decision, whichever is later, under 29 CFR 1602.14. California requires four years and Colorado five, and federal contractors of a certain size keep records two years. Most multi-state employers pick the longest period that applies and use it everywhere. In the UK and EU there is no fixed number; the period has to be justified, commonly by the time limit for bringing a claim.
Does a retention policy have to be written down?
Several rules effectively require it. The CCPA requires telling California applicants how long you keep each category of personal information, the GDPR requires a retention period or the criteria for it in the privacy notice, and Illinois' biometric privacy law requires a written, public retention schedule for biometric data. A written policy is also what lets you show deletion was routine rather than selective.
Should interview recordings be kept as long as notes?
They are records of the hiring process, so the same minimum applies once you create them. The better question is whether to create or keep audio at all. A transcript or a scorecard with quotes usually serves the purpose with less data, and less data means less to secure, search and produce.
What happens to the schedule if a candidate complains?
A legal hold overrides the schedule. Once a charge, lawsuit or credible threat of one is reasonably anticipated, relevant records must be preserved until counsel lifts the hold in writing, and automatic deletion for those records must be switched off.