Practice

Office move: what to take, what to destroy?

27 March 2026 · 7 min read · DeSnipperaar

An office move is the one occasion when an organisation actually walks past every archive cabinet. Boxes that have sat on the shelf for years are suddenly weighed again. That makes a relocation the perfect moment to declutter. Take what is legally required, destroy what should have gone long ago. Without this triage moment you simply move boxes that weigh you down. Worse still, you move GDPR risk to the new location.

Audience: facility managers, office managers, DPOs and business owners who are about to relocate.

Why a move is the ideal moment

• Every box is handled again, labels are read.
• You save time: fewer boxes means a cheaper move.
• You save on archive space at the new location.
• You can set up GDPR compliance properly rather than doing repair work later.
• Destruction costs are lower per unit at higher volumes.

An office move without archive triage is a move of problems. You carry the unresolved over to the new location.

The timing

Plan the triage at least eight weeks before moving day. Later than that, the stress of the move is too high to think clearly. Eight weeks leaves room to:

1. Carry out an inventory (2 weeks)
2. Test against retention periods (1 week)
3. Management decision (1 week)
4. Schedule the destruction appointment (2 weeks lead time)
5. Carry out the on-site destruction (1 day to 1 week)
6. Certificate and administration (1 week)

The triage list

Sort each box into one of three categories.

Take with you

• Live files (active for clients or projects)
• Tax records within 7 years (AWR art. 52). See tax retention period.
• Real estate records within 9 years (VAT adjustment)
• Medical files within 20 years (WGBO art. 7:454 BW). See WGBO 20 years.
• Legal files within their retention period
• Notarial deeds and the related file parts
• Active HR files of staff still in service
• Active contracts and framework agreements

Destroy

• Tax material older than 7 years
• Application data older than 4 weeks (unless consent has been given, max 1 year)
• ID copies older than 5 years after end of employment
• Drafts and scratch versions older than 10 years
• Old USB sticks and SD cards from drawers
• Decommissioned HDDs and SSDs
• Empty folders with identifiable labels
• Read-out backup tapes

Store digitally and destroy the paper

• Receipt books and expense forms if a scanned version suffices
• Old manuals available online
• Folders and brochures that exist digitally

Specific categories

IT equipment

Old workstations, laptops, servers. Always some of it on the move? Two options: refurbish if it is modern and managed under a proper MDM process, otherwise destroy. Read HDD wipe versus destruction.

Printers and copiers

Often overlooked: every multifunction printer has an internal HDD or SSD. Have the destruction service separate it, or ask the supplier for secure erase with certificate.

Smart cards and access passes

Old staff passes, visitor passes. Destroy in line with DIN 66399 (E-series for electronic chips or T-series for magnetic strips).

Debit cards and credit cards

Old payment cards from client and till environments. Always destroy, never take with you.

Blueprints and microfiches

Specifically for architects, structural engineers, municipalities. Microfiches fall under the F-series of DIN 66399, blueprints fall under the P-series but require a higher cutting capacity.

The triage workflow

1. Get adhesive tape in three colours ready: green (keep), red (destroy), yellow (digitise).
2. Have two people per department walk through the archive. One subject-matter lead and one from administration.
3. Colour every box. Discussion? Skip that box and let the line manager or DPO decide.
4. Green: add to the moving list.
5. Red: collect in a central room.
6. Yellow: scan or send to a digitisation service.
7. After triage: schedule the destruction order on-site.

Logistics of the destruction

Choose on-site destruction, not off-site. Reason: during a moving period building access is unclear, containers can go astray, the chain of evidence is fragile. Have a mobile shredder come to your current location before the move starts. See on-site versus off-site shredding.

Tip: schedule the destruction a week before the big moving day. That leaves time to correct any box you marked too hastily.

Communication

Inform staff in good time about the triage process. They often know where old files live that nobody else can find. Ask each department to provide a list. Make it explicit that nobody should throw things out on their own initiative: destruction runs through the designated party with a certificate.

The GDPR side of the move

Do not forget: during the move you are moving data, and that is processing under the GDPR. Points of attention:

• The moving company must sign a processor agreement if they transport archive material containing personal data.
• Agreement on seal numbers for boxes that get sealed.
• Reporting point for missing boxes.
• For large volumes: cameras at the loading and unloading area.
• Confidentiality clause for the moving company's staff.

See also our processor agreement checklist.

After the move

At the new location: set the archive up with clear labels, a box-by-box inventory, and schedule next year's destruction round. That prevents the next move from yielding another mountain of unknown archive.

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Moving day within two months? Call us or request a quote via desnipperaar.nl. We can schedule a mobile session at your current location within a few days.