DMS Feature Checklist for County Government

How to use this checklist

For each capability listed, mark it as one of four statuses when evaluating a vendor:

• Supported — demonstrated in the product today
• Partially supported — available but with limitations (note what’s missing)
• Roadmap — committed future delivery (get the timeline in writing)
• Not supported — not available and not planned

Items marked as Mandatory below are capabilities most county offices cannot operate without, or that are required by common IT security policy. “Not supported” on a mandatory item is typically disqualifying. Items marked Preferred improve operations but aren’t dealbreakers — weight them based on your office’s specific needs.

Core records management

• [Mandatory] Document upload and ingestion — supports the file formats your office uses (TIFF, PDF, PDF/A, JPEG)
• [Mandatory] Document storage with version history
• [Mandatory] Metadata capture — configurable fields per document type (grantor/grantee, recording date, instrument number, etc.)
• [Mandatory] Document retrieval by metadata search (name, date, document type, instrument number)
• [Mandatory] Full-text search across document content (not just metadata)
• [Preferred] Bulk ingestion for backfile or migration projects
• [Preferred] Duplicate detection
• [Preferred] Document relationship linking (e.g., linking a release to its original lien)

Access controls and security

• [Mandatory] Role-based access controls — different permission levels for public users, counter staff, back-office staff, and administrators
• [Mandatory] Single sign-on (SSO) integration with your identity provider (Active Directory, Azure AD, or equivalent)
• [Mandatory] Multi-factor authentication (MFA) support
• [Mandatory] Audit log — records every access, modification, download, and export with timestamp and user ID
• [Mandatory] Audit log export — can produce a report for compliance review or legal request
• [Preferred] IP-based access restrictions for administrative functions
• [Preferred] Configurable session timeout
• [Preferred] Watermarking on downloaded documents

Retention and compliance

• [Mandatory] Retention schedule configuration — can assign retention periods per document type
• [Mandatory] Retention enforcement — prevents deletion before retention period expires
• [Mandatory] Disposition workflow — flags records approaching disposition date for review
• [Preferred] Legal hold functionality — suspends retention clock for records under litigation hold
• [Preferred] Retention reporting — generates inventory of records by retention category and status
• [Preferred] Configurable destruction approval workflow with documented authorization

Public records request fulfillment

• [Mandatory] Public-facing search portal — allows public users to search and view records without staff assistance
• [Mandatory] Configurable public access rules — restrict which document types or fields are visible to public users
• [Preferred] Online public records request intake — form submission with tracking number
• [Preferred] Request tracking and status updates for requestors
• [Preferred] Redaction tools — ability to black out exempt fields before releasing a document
• [Preferred] Fee calculation and payment processing for record copies

AI and automation capabilities

• [Preferred] Automated metadata extraction from scanned documents (OCR + AI)
• [Preferred] Document type classification — automatically identifies document type from content
• [Preferred] Confidence scoring — flags low-confidence extractions for human review
• [Preferred] Accuracy reporting — vendor can provide documented accuracy rates for your document types
• [Preferred] Human review workflow — clear process for reviewing and correcting AI-generated fields
• [Preferred] AI governance documentation — vendor can answer questions about training data, model updates, and data handling

For any vendor offering AI features, ask: Are accuracy claims specific to your document types, or general benchmarks? What happens to your documents after they’re processed? Will county data be used to train or improve the model? See the AI Governance guide for a full set of questions.

Integration and technical requirements

• [Mandatory] Data export in standard formats (PDF/A for documents, CSV or XML for metadata)
• [Preferred] API access for integration with existing county systems (finance, permitting, court systems)
• [Preferred] E-recording system integration
• [Preferred] E-signature support or integration
• [Preferred] GIS or parcel data integration for land records

Support, SLAs, and vendor stability

• [Mandatory] Documented uptime SLA (99.5% or higher for cloud deployments)
• [Mandatory] Defined support response times by severity level
• [Mandatory] Disaster recovery documentation — recovery time and recovery point objectives
• [Preferred] Dedicated government/public sector support channel
• [Preferred] User training included in implementation
• [Preferred] Reference customers in county government willing to speak with you

Simple scoring approach

After completing the checklist for each vendor:

• Any “Not supported” on a Mandatory item → disqualify or escalate to leadership before proceeding
• Count Preferred items: Supported = 2 points, Partially supported = 1 point, Roadmap = 0.5 points (if timeline is committed), Not supported = 0
• Compare total Preferred scores across finalists alongside pricing and reference checks

This scoring isn’t a formula — it’s a tool for making the comparison legible to people who weren’t in the demos. The goal is a defensible, documented evaluation, not a mechanical output.