How do I set up a new document retention policy in Acrobat?

Log in as an account or group administrator. Go to the security policies section to manage reusable policy sets. Choose to 'Design Retention Policies' and set the desired retention period. Apply this policy to documents when they are finalized.

Why are retention policies important for businesses?

They help businesses follow laws and industry standards like HIPAA or ISO 27001. They ensure important documents are kept for the correct amount of time. They help manage storage space by deleting old, unneeded files. They protect sensitive information with password or certificate security.

Overhaul Encryption Retention in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

1 way to ask · copy any one

DBecome — “help me grow”We lack a clear policy and different people use different encryption and retention practices,…+

We lack a clear policy and different people use different encryption and retention practices, causing compliance gaps. Map the recurring weaknesses and recommend one enforceable department policy for encrypting and retaining signed consent forms and manuscripts that meets IRB expectations and reduces individual guesswork.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Obtain OAuth2 credentials (Client ID, Client Secret) for your Adobe organization from the Adobe Developer Console.
Best practiceEnsure your credentials are up to date, as Adobe periodically updates API authentication requirements.
2
Request an access token by making a POST request to the Adobe Identity Platform token endpoint using your credentials.
NoteYou must use the appropriate scopes for Admin or Storage Management APIs to manage retention policies.
3
Identify the correct API endpoint for retention policy management—typically the Storage Management API or Catalog Service API for TTL (Time To Live) configuration.
NoteRefer to Adobe's Storage Management API or Catalog Service API documentation for the latest endpoint URLs and request formats.
4
Construct a JSON payload specifying the retention rule parameters, such as the number of days to retain documents, and the event that triggers retention (e.g., agreement completion).
CautionRetention policies only apply after an agreement reaches a terminal state (completed, canceled, or expired).
5
Send a POST or PATCH request to the retention policy endpoint with your access token and JSON payload to create or update the retention policy.
NoteUse POST to create a new policy and PATCH to update an existing one, as per API documentation.
6
To verify, send a GET request to the same endpoint to query and confirm the current retention policy settings.
Best practiceAlways validate the policy state after changes to ensure compliance and prevent accidental data loss.

In the appWith the API

Retention policies are not managed in the Acrobat desktop app; use the Admin Console or API for enterprise retention configuration.

Use the Adobe Storage Management API or Catalog Service API endpoints to programmatically set, update, or query retention (TTL) policies for enterprise content.

Glossary

words on this page

Retention PolicyA set of rules that decides how long documents are kept and how they are handled.ExampleOur company's retention policy states that all invoices must be kept for seven years.

Terminal StateThe final stage of a document, after which no more changes are expected.ExampleOnce approved and archived, the contract reached its terminal state, meaning no further edits were allowed.

ComplianceFollowing the rules or laws about how something should be done.ExampleEnsuring compliance means all invoices meet the company's financial record-keeping standards.

The real tasks

the one, listed here

I want to overhaul our department’s policy for encrypting and retaining consent forms and manuscripts.

FAQ

about this task

Log in as an account or group administrator.
Go to the security policies section to manage reusable policy sets.
Choose to 'Design Retention Policies' and set the desired retention period.
Apply this policy to documents when they are finalized.

A document's 'terminal state' means it is finished and will not be changed anymore. Retention policies are applied at this point. This ensures the final version is kept for the correct amount of time, starting from when it is complete.

Acrobat's Enterprise Policy Retention helps your company follow HIPAA rules by letting you set specific times for how long patient documents are kept. You can define policies for 1 to 5475 days. These policies use password or certificate protection. This ensures sensitive health information is managed according to legal requirements and is secure. It helps you meet compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI DSS 3.0, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO 27001.

They help businesses follow laws and industry standards like HIPAA or ISO 27001.
They ensure important documents are kept for the correct amount of time.
They help manage storage space by deleting old, unneeded files.
They protect sensitive information with password or certificate security.

Acrobat's retention policies, known as Enterprise Policy Retention, focus on how long documents are kept within Acrobat itself, often applied to files after they are finalized. These are set by an admin and use password or certificate protection. Acrobat Sign, on the other hand, has its own data governance and retention configuration specifically for electronic signatures and related documents. While both deal with retention, Acrobat policies are for general document management, and Acrobat Sign policies are for signed agreements.

Overhaul Encryption Retention

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

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