Water-damaged company records need a controlled recovery plan that protects people, preserves the surviving evidence and identifies missing material. Notify the responsible director and secretary promptly. A replacement scan or reconstructed index should never be presented as an original signed document.

Hands signing a document at an office desk
Illustrative photograph by Pavel Danilyuk.

Record what is affected

Identify the boxes, date ranges and document types without handling unsafe material. Follow appropriate professional advice for wet, contaminated or fragile records. Preserve photographs of the condition and location where it is safe to do so.

Keep an incident index showing known contents, surviving copies and gaps. Separate statutory records, contracts, accounting papers and personal documents because their recovery priorities and handling needs may differ.

Retrieve reliable duplicates

Check controlled electronic storage, the secretary’s files and copies held by authorised counterparties. Record the source of every recovered item. A scan from an unknown folder needs checking before it becomes the company’s working reference.

Tell the secretary which signed originals may be lost or unreadable. Ask what formal replacement or other action is required for the actual document. This practical recovery checklist does not determine whether a copy has the same legal effect as the original.

Example: a certificate log survives but certificates do not

The electronic log identifies documents affected in a wet box. Preserve the log and the incident evidence, then obtain advice about the affected originals. Printing the log does not recreate the certificates or establish that replacement documents may be issued immediately.

Verify recovery item by item

Mark each record recovered, partly recovered or unresolved, with its source and reviewer. Keep restricted information in controlled storage during the recovery. Before disposing of damaged material, confirm the appropriate preservation and retention position with the responsible advisers.

Related practical guidance

For the surrounding records and responsibilities, see maintaining statutory records, the company secretary role, company recordkeeping.

Official guidance: ACRA company guidance.

Help with your company records

For corporate secretarial and company administration support, contact Raffles Corporate Services at [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. Tell us which records or process need attention so we can discuss the relevant next steps.