Record keeping
Record keeping is the legal obligation under MLR 2017 to retain CDD evidence, risk assessments, screening results, transaction records, policies, training records, and suspicious activity decision logs for a minimum of five years after the client relationship ends. Records must be retrievable and suitable for inspection.
keeping records in email folders or paper files is technically compliant but difficult to retrieve under inspection pressure. Dedicated AML software that timestamps and stores evidence provides a cleaner audit trail.
How different roles use Record keeping
A good definition should change the next action for the person reading it.
Partner or director
Check whether this term affects acceptance risk, fee scope, supervision exposure, or sign-off responsibility.
ContinueMLRO or compliance lead
Map the term to evidence, escalation, monitoring, training, and inspection readiness.
ContinueClient-facing team member
Use the plain-English explanation to ask better client questions and write clearer file notes.
ContinueOther terms that go with Record keeping
A supervisory authority is the body responsible for overseeing AML compliance within a particular sector. For accountants not belonging to a professional body, the supervisory authority is HMRC. Members of recognised professional bodies (ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, and others) are supervised by those bodies instead. For law firms in England and Wales, the supervisory authority is the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), with parallel regulators in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Supervisory authorities set standards, conduct reviews, and can impose sanctions.
Ongoing monitoring is the continuous obligation to scrutinise transactions and client activity throughout a business relationship and to keep CDD records up to date. It requires watching for transactions or behaviour that is inconsistent with the stated purpose of the relationship or the expected risk profile.
Before you treat Record keeping as handled
- Confirm which regulation, policy, or internal procedure the term maps to.
- Document the decision or evidence trail in the client file, not only in email or chat.
- Escalate where the term indicates higher risk, sanctions exposure, PEP status, suspicion, or missing evidence.
- Keep the wording consistent across onboarding, review notes, training material, and inspection packs.
Put Record keeping into practice with Certivus
Knowing the term is the first step. Certivus gives you the workflows — client intake, CDD, EDD, PEP and sanctions screening, audit-ready records — to apply it across every client.
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