Government document scanning services convert an agency’s paper, microfilm, microfiche and aperture cards into indexed, searchable digital records. The right provider pairs secure handling with standards-based capture and indexing built around how your staff actually look records up. Smooth Solutions, a DMI company in Lodi, New Jersey, has been scanning since 1996, and its controls are SOC 2 compliant and HIPAA-compliant.
What agencies typically need to scan
Public-sector records rarely arrive in one neat format. A single project can include bound ledgers, large-format drawings, case files, permits, meeting minutes, microfilm reels, microfiche and engineering aperture cards. Each has its own handling and capture requirements, so a good provider asks about the mix before quoting a method.
Film-based records deserve special attention because they are often the oldest and the least accessible. Smooth has scanned tens of millions of aperture cards and hundreds of millions of microfilm and microfiche images, with capacity of over 1 million images per week. If your archive includes film, see our microfiche and microfilm scanning service for how those conversions work.
Security and chain of custody
Government records often contain personal, legal or operational information, so security is a selection criterion, not an afterthought. Ask any provider to explain, in writing, how records are received, tracked, stored, scanned and returned or destroyed. Look for access limited to authorized staff, documented handoffs and secure delivery of the finished files.
Smooth’s controls are SOC 2 compliant and HIPAA-compliant, which matters for agencies handling health-related records. Smooth’s parent company, DMI, has done work for federal agencies such as GPO, NARA, IRS, the Treasury Department, BLM and NPS. DMI staff complete NIH and CJIS online training, and staff on IRS work went through IRS background checks. Where required, staff can also work under escort.
On-site or off-site scanning
Some records can leave the building and some cannot. Smooth can scan on-site anywhere in the US, so records never leave your facility, or it can take them in through secure pickup or ship-in from anywhere by UPS, FedEx or LTL freight. On-site work suits records that are restricted, irreplaceable or too sensitive to move. Off-site work suits large volumes where a dedicated production environment helps.
The trade-offs are covered in our comparison of on-site versus off-site scanning for sensitive records. Many agencies split a project, scanning the most sensitive series on-site and shipping the rest.
Capture quality, OCR and indexing
A scan is only useful if people can find what they need. Three things decide that.
- Image capture. QUEST dual-stream scanning captures color and black-and-white in one pass, so stamps, highlights and signatures are kept without a second run.
- Text recognition. 6-way voting OCR runs six recognition passes and compares them character by character, with the majority winning. Advanced PDF compression keeps files manageable to store and share.
- Indexing. Documents are indexed to your fields, such as parcel number, case number, permit number or date, so the archive mirrors the way your office already searches.
For local government, municipal document scanning usually centers on clerk, building, planning and public works records. County recorders with land records can also use TitleSureAI, another DMI brand, for quality control on those records.
Planning the project
Good projects start with an inventory. Count the boxes, reels and cards, note which series are active and which are archival, and decide which records need the fullest indexing. Records you consult daily deserve detailed fields. Long-term archival series may only need a few. Agreeing on this up front keeps scope clear and avoids paying for index data nobody will use.
Also decide what happens to the originals. Retention schedules and legal requirements differ by record series, so your records officer should confirm what may be destroyed and what must be kept before scanning begins.
How to evaluate a provider
Use the same short list with every vendor so proposals can be compared fairly.
- Can they work on-site, and can they handle your media types, including film and aperture cards?
- Do they follow recognized digitization standards? DMI follows NARA digitization standards.
- How is quality checked, and what happens to exceptions?
- What output formats and index fields will you receive?
- How are files delivered, and can they go straight into your existing system?
Our overview of how document imaging services benefit businesses and government agencies goes further into the business case.
Related: see how Smooth supports federal government document scanning and microfilm to PDF conversion for government agencies.
Frequently asked questions
How do you keep government records secure during scanning?
Security starts with controlled handling: tracked receipt, limited access, documented handoffs and secure delivery of finished files. Smooth Solutions is SOC 2 compliant and HIPAA-compliant. Records that cannot leave your facility can be scanned on-site, and finished files go out by encrypted drive or SFTP, or directly into your document management system.
Can you scan records on-site at our agency?
Yes. Smooth and DMI can bring scanning to your location anywhere in the US, so sensitive or irreplaceable records stay under your control. If a project is better handled off-site, records can come in through secure pickup or ship-in by UPS, FedEx or LTL freight.
What file formats and indexing do government agencies usually need?
Most agencies ask for searchable PDF images plus an index file. Index data can be delivered as CSV, Excel, XML, JSON or a custom format built to your specification. Indexing follows your own fields, such as case, parcel or permit number, and ICR and OMR data capture can pull values from forms.
Ready to scope a government scanning project? Ask for a free consultation or a free sample scan of your own records, and call 1-800-DMI-4210 to talk with the Smooth Solutions team.
