A hold release notifies custodians that the preservation obligation has ended for a matter and that ordinary retention policies apply again. It should issue only when all appeals, related matters, and regulatory obligations have concluded.
Releases are documented alongside the original hold.
Alternative Names:
Release of Legal Hold, Hold Termination
Why it Matters?
Failure to release holds is a common and expensive problem, since organizations accumulate holds that never end and preserve data indefinitely across dozens of closed matters. That inflates storage cost and expands the collection surface for every future case. The counterpart risk is releasing prematurely, so verification that no related matter or appeal remains open is a necessary step rather than a formality.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
When should a hold be released?
What is the cost of not releasing holds?
