CAP Exam QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
List the four phases of the records lifecycle in order - CORRECT ANSWER Creation,
Distribution, Maintenance, Disposition
Which phase of the records lifecyle would you first apply a retention schedule? - CORRECT
ANSWER Maintenance
How do you file alphabetically by personal name? - CORRECT ANSWER Last Name, First
Name, Middle Initial
How would you file a company named "The Williams Group"? - CORRECT ANSWER
Williams Group, The
A numerical filing system requires which supporting tool to locate recors? - CORRECT ANSWER
A master index or database
Which classification system is most appropriate for a large medical records dept handling 50,000
patient files and why? - CORRECT ANSWER Numerical - these systems excel at large
volumes because numbers are unique, easy to sort, and avoid confusion from name changes, spelling
variations, or common names
An alphanumerical code "HR-042" indicates what about the record? - CORRECT ANSWER
Belongs to Human Resources Dept and is record number 42
How should you structure a folder hierarchy? - CORRECT ANSWER No more than 4 levels
deep - Example: Finance > Budgets > June 2026
What is the recommended date format for folder names to ensure proper sorting? - CORRECT
ANSWER YYYY-MM-DD (ISO format)
Which character should you avoid using in folder and file names and why? - CORRECT ANSWER
Asterisk - causes cross platform errors
,What are metadata fields that help with searching? - CORRECT ANSWER Author, Keywords,
and Subject
A document named "2026_Budget_v2.3_FINAL.docx" suggest what about version control? -
CORRECT ANSWER It is the 2.3 draft version labeled as final prematurely
Under the FLSA how long must payroll records be retained? - CORRECT ANSWER 3 years
OSHA requires injury logs to be retained for what period? - CORRECT ANSWER 5 years
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires financial audit records to be retained for how long? - CORRECT
ANSWER 7 years
Under HIPAA medical records must generally be retained for how long from the date of creation or
last use? - CORRECT ANSWER 6 years
What is the correct disposition action for board meeting minutes according to most retention
schedules and why? - CORRECT ANSWER Transfer to permanent archives - they typically
have permanent historical and legal value and are archived rather than destroyed
What should you do if a record is past its retention period but is subject to a legal hold? - CORRECT
ANSWER Preserve it until the legal hold is lifted
Why is Cross-cut shredding preferred over strip-cut shredding ? - CORRECT ANSWER It
produces smaller particles that cannot be easily reassembled.
Degaussing is an appropriate destruction method for which media? - CORRECT ANSWER
Hard drives and magnetic tapes
The DoD 5220.22-M standard requires how many overwrites for hard drive sanitization? - CORRECT
ANSWER 3 - typically one pass of zeros, one pass of ones, and one pass of random characters)
, What is the most reliable destruction method for USB flash drives and why? - CORRECT ANSWER
Physical Destruction - they have limited write cycles making overwriting unreliable
When you delete a file from a cloud service what typically happens first? - CORRECT ANSWER
The file moves to a trash or recycle bin for 30-90 days
Which law requires written authorization before disclosing medical records? - CORRECT ANSWER
HIPAA - the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Active records as best defined how? - CORRECT ANSWER As records that are needed for
current operations, typically accessed monthly
How should inactive digital records be ideally stored? - CORRECT ANSWER Lower-cost
archive storage tiers
What do access protocols for inactive records typically require? - CORRECT ANSWER
Managerial approval and sign-out logs
How often should you review active files to identify candidates for inactivation? - CORRECT
ANSWER Every quarter
What kind of emails are considered formal records requiring preservation? - CORRECT ANSWER
Emails that document business decisions, approvals, contracts, or formal notices.
What does the "one copy" rule in email records management state? - CORRECT ANSWER
The official record is stored in a central repository; other copies are convenience copies
(prevents duplication)
What should you do when preserving an email chain that contains a compete decision history? -
CORRECT ANSWER Preserve the final message that contains all earlier content as the official
record
What does the 3-2-1 back up rule specify? - CORRECT ANSWER 3 copies, 2 different media
types, 1 offsite copy
ANSWERS
List the four phases of the records lifecycle in order - CORRECT ANSWER Creation,
Distribution, Maintenance, Disposition
Which phase of the records lifecyle would you first apply a retention schedule? - CORRECT
ANSWER Maintenance
How do you file alphabetically by personal name? - CORRECT ANSWER Last Name, First
Name, Middle Initial
How would you file a company named "The Williams Group"? - CORRECT ANSWER
Williams Group, The
A numerical filing system requires which supporting tool to locate recors? - CORRECT ANSWER
A master index or database
Which classification system is most appropriate for a large medical records dept handling 50,000
patient files and why? - CORRECT ANSWER Numerical - these systems excel at large
volumes because numbers are unique, easy to sort, and avoid confusion from name changes, spelling
variations, or common names
An alphanumerical code "HR-042" indicates what about the record? - CORRECT ANSWER
Belongs to Human Resources Dept and is record number 42
How should you structure a folder hierarchy? - CORRECT ANSWER No more than 4 levels
deep - Example: Finance > Budgets > June 2026
What is the recommended date format for folder names to ensure proper sorting? - CORRECT
ANSWER YYYY-MM-DD (ISO format)
Which character should you avoid using in folder and file names and why? - CORRECT ANSWER
Asterisk - causes cross platform errors
,What are metadata fields that help with searching? - CORRECT ANSWER Author, Keywords,
and Subject
A document named "2026_Budget_v2.3_FINAL.docx" suggest what about version control? -
CORRECT ANSWER It is the 2.3 draft version labeled as final prematurely
Under the FLSA how long must payroll records be retained? - CORRECT ANSWER 3 years
OSHA requires injury logs to be retained for what period? - CORRECT ANSWER 5 years
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires financial audit records to be retained for how long? - CORRECT
ANSWER 7 years
Under HIPAA medical records must generally be retained for how long from the date of creation or
last use? - CORRECT ANSWER 6 years
What is the correct disposition action for board meeting minutes according to most retention
schedules and why? - CORRECT ANSWER Transfer to permanent archives - they typically
have permanent historical and legal value and are archived rather than destroyed
What should you do if a record is past its retention period but is subject to a legal hold? - CORRECT
ANSWER Preserve it until the legal hold is lifted
Why is Cross-cut shredding preferred over strip-cut shredding ? - CORRECT ANSWER It
produces smaller particles that cannot be easily reassembled.
Degaussing is an appropriate destruction method for which media? - CORRECT ANSWER
Hard drives and magnetic tapes
The DoD 5220.22-M standard requires how many overwrites for hard drive sanitization? - CORRECT
ANSWER 3 - typically one pass of zeros, one pass of ones, and one pass of random characters)
, What is the most reliable destruction method for USB flash drives and why? - CORRECT ANSWER
Physical Destruction - they have limited write cycles making overwriting unreliable
When you delete a file from a cloud service what typically happens first? - CORRECT ANSWER
The file moves to a trash or recycle bin for 30-90 days
Which law requires written authorization before disclosing medical records? - CORRECT ANSWER
HIPAA - the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
Active records as best defined how? - CORRECT ANSWER As records that are needed for
current operations, typically accessed monthly
How should inactive digital records be ideally stored? - CORRECT ANSWER Lower-cost
archive storage tiers
What do access protocols for inactive records typically require? - CORRECT ANSWER
Managerial approval and sign-out logs
How often should you review active files to identify candidates for inactivation? - CORRECT
ANSWER Every quarter
What kind of emails are considered formal records requiring preservation? - CORRECT ANSWER
Emails that document business decisions, approvals, contracts, or formal notices.
What does the "one copy" rule in email records management state? - CORRECT ANSWER
The official record is stored in a central repository; other copies are convenience copies
(prevents duplication)
What should you do when preserving an email chain that contains a compete decision history? -
CORRECT ANSWER Preserve the final message that contains all earlier content as the official
record
What does the 3-2-1 back up rule specify? - CORRECT ANSWER 3 copies, 2 different media
types, 1 offsite copy
