Vault Specifications

National standards for vaults serve as the State of Vermont's guidelines for any new construction or renovation projects. The term “vault” is associated with a specific fire tolerance level; however, other records storage environments not as highly rated as a true "vault" may still be perfectly suitable.

• NFPA 232: Standard for the Protection of Records provides criteria that address the following records storage environments (in ascending order of risk tolerance): (1) vaults, (2) archives, (3) file rooms, (4) compartmented records centers, and (5) records centers. It also includes guidelines for records protection equipment (e.g. fire-rated doors).

There are different costs associated with each records storage environment and the tolerance scale can be used to determine what best meets a public agency's needs and budget. If renovating an existing records storage facility or constructing a new one, citing NFP 232 as a requirement in requests for information (RFI) or requests for proposals (RFP) is highly recommended.

For additional information about vault construction and renovation, visit the Buildings and Physical Environment section of our Vermont Historical Records Program's Resource Library.