# Sample retention and disposal

> How long tested samples are kept, when they fall due for disposal, and how disposal is recorded.

Tested samples are usually kept for a set time after the report is issued, then
disposed of. GIMLabs works out when each sample can go, lists the ones that are due,
and keeps a record of how and when each was disposed of.

## When a sample can go

Each sample gets a **keep-until** date: a start date from its
[testing schedules](/manage/lab-workflow/testing-schedules#progress), plus the number
of months your company keeps samples for.

- **Start date** - by default, the schedule's **Report issued** date, or its
  **Results received** date when no report date has been entered. A project can have
  several report issues, so the date lives on each schedule. If a sample is on more
  than one schedule, the latest start date counts.
- **How long** - **3 months** by default.

Both are set for the company in
[Product OS](/product-os/laboratories#schedule-settings), where you can also choose
to count from results received only. To use report dates, turn on the **Report
issued** stage there too - it is off until you do.

Samples with no start date yet, and samples marked missing, are not listed.

## Keeping samples longer

- **A whole project** - set **Keep samples (months)** when editing the
  [project](/manage/projects). Leave it blank to use the company default.
- **A single sample** - choose **Keep longer** on Insight's Disposal tab, with a
  date and a note of why (a client query or a retest, for example). The hold wins
  when it is later than the usual keep-until date, and can be removed again.

## Disposing of samples

Samples that are due are listed on the **Disposal** tab of
[Insight's Testing page](/insight/testing#disposal), across every project you can
open. Tick them and choose **Mark disposed**, then pick:

- the **route** - **Standard** or **Hazardous** (for samples that need a licensed
  waste route). There is no default: whether disposal must be hazardous is decided
  from the results, so a person always chooses.
- the **date disposed** (today by default) and any **notes**, such as the waste
  contractor or consignment note.

If any of the samples are flagged
[handle with care](/manage/lab-workflow/testing-schedules#handle-with-care), you are
reminded to check the results first.

<Callout type="note" title="Samples are never deleted">
  Marking a sample disposed records what happened to the physical sample - its data
  and results stay in the project. A disposal can be undone, and each disposal, undo
  and hold is recorded in the History of the sample's schedules.
</Callout>

## Disposed samples

A disposed sample shows a **Disposed** tag in the
[Table Editor](/manage/table-editor) and the sample picker, and adding it to a
schedule asks you to confirm. Clients in Connect do not see retention, holds or
disposal.