A scan is useful only if it is readable, connected to the right record and stored where the right people can find it.
Select and prepare the material
Identify the owner, purpose and retention rule before scanning. Remove staples safely, keep pages in order and note any two-sided or oversized material. For sensitive records, use approved equipment and a controlled workflow. A scanning vendor or phone app may process images elsewhere; check data handling before sending confidential pages.
Verify the digital copy
Check a sample and every critical page for missing edges, unreadable text, wrong orientation and page order. Optical character recognition can help search, but it can misread names and numbers; the image remains the source for verification. Name files consistently and include context such as a case number or date when appropriate.
Store and decide what happens to paper
Place the scan in the approved system with access controls and backup. Link it to its record or project. Do not destroy an original merely because a PDF exists; legal and organizational rules may require the paper or a certified process. Record who checked the scan and what was done with the original.
Try it in a real workweek
A small office scans signed project handoffs. A reviewer checks every signature page and page count, files the PDF under a consistent project identifier and retains paper under the applicable policy.
This is an organizing checklist, not a legal determination that a scanned copy can replace an original.
Check the source and the context
For the next step, see this related field guide.