OST184 Records Management
RULES 1-10
Rule 1 – Indexing Order of Units
 Nothing before something
 Personal Names: surname > first name > initial
 Business Names: as written on letterhead; business names containing personal names are indexed as written also
Rule 2 - Minor Words and Symbols
 Articles (a, an, the) - prepositions (at, in at, on, etc) and conjunctions (AND BUT OR NOT) are considered separate units
 Symbols are considered spelled out in full ($, #, %) and are considered one indexing unit
 “The” as the first word of a business name is considered the last indexing unit
Rule 3 – Punctuation and possessives
 All punctuation is disregarded
Rule 4 – Single Letters and Abbreviations
 Personal names o Initials are separate indexing unit o Abbreviations of personal names are indexed as written (Wm or Thos.)
 Business names o Single letters with spaces between each letter are each indexed as a unit o Single letters without spaces are indexed as one unit o Acronyms are indexed as one unit o Abbreviated words (mfg, corp.) are indexed as one unit o Radio and TV station call letters are one unit
Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes
 Personal names o Title before name (Dr, Miss, Ms, Prof) are single indexing unit o Suffixes after a name (DDS, Mayor, CPA, MD) are single indexing unit o Titles and suffixes are the last indexing unit - if a name contains both a title and a suffix, the title is the last unit. o Suffixes are filled before titles o Numeric suffixes (I, II, III)are filed before alphabetic suffixes (Jr. Sr.) o Royal and religious titles followed by either a given name or a surname only are indexed and filed as written.
 Business names o Titles in business names are indexed as written
Rule 6 – Foreign Prefixes (articles and particles)
 A foreign article or particle in a personal or business name is combined with the part of the name following it to form a single unit – the space is disregarded (D’ Da Las)
Rule 7 – Numbers in Business Names
OST184 Rules 1-10 and Cross Referencing Rules Page 1 of 6

 Numbers spelled out are filed alphabetically.
 Numbers written in digits are filed before alphabetic letters or words
 Names with numbers in digits in the first unit are filed in ascending order – lowest to highest – before alphabetic names
 Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) are filled before roman numerals (I, II, III)
 Names with inclusive numbers are arranged by first digits only (5336 – 6989)
 Numbers with st, rd, and th - drop the st, rd, and th
Rule 8 – Organizations and Institutions
 Indexed according to the letterheads (with THE as the last index)
Rule 9 – Identical Names
 When personal names and names of businesses are identical, filing order is determined by the address in the following order: o City name o State name o Street name
 Streets are numbers are filed before alphabetic street names
 Streets with compass directions are filled as written (N Beach Street) with compass direction being a separate indexing unit o House or building number
 If a street address and building name are both included disregard the building name
 Zip codes are NOT considered in filing order
Rule 10 – Government Names
 Government names are indexed first by the name of the governmental unit – country, state, county, or city
 Next, name of department, bureau, office, or board (Travel Dept of)
 If “of” is not a part of the official name, it is not added.
Federal
 United States Government – first 3 indexing units
State and Local
 First indexing unit is the name of the state, province, county, city, town, village
 Next, name of department, bureau, office, or board ( Beaufort City of)
Foreign
 Distinctive English name if the first indexing unit - then balance of the name (Ecuador
Republic of)
 Branches, departments, cities, provinces, etc follow in order by their distinctive name
OST184 Rules 1-10 and Cross Referencing Rules Page 2 of 6

Unusual names
CHIANG TAPEI MR
TAPEI CHIANGE MR
SEE CHIANG TAPEI MR
Hyphenated surnames
PALMERGREEN TERRI
GREEN TERI PALMER
SEE PALMERGREEN TERRI
Alternate names
MILLER P J
MILLER PETER JAMES
SEE MILLER P J
Similar names
BROWN
SEE ALSO BRAUN, BROWNE
Compound names
MOORE RUSE AND SULLIVAN
Abbreviations and acronyms
IBM
RUSE SULLIVAN AND MOORESULLIVAN MOORE AND RUSE
SEE ALSO SEE ALSO
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
SEE IBM
Popular and coined names
GRANNYS
GRANDMAS HOME COOKING
SEE GRANNYS
Hyphenated names
BROWNSIMPSON TRADING COMPANY
SIMPSONBROWN TRADING COMPANY
SEE BROWNSIMPSON TRADING COMPANY
OST184 Rules 1-10 and Cross Referencing Rules Page 3 of 6

Divisions and Subsidiaries
Name appearing on the letterhead is the one indexed on original record; cross reference is made under the name of the parent company.
Changed Names o If only a few exists, re-file them under new name; former name is marked as the crossreference. o If many records are filed under former name, permanent cross reference is placed at the beginning of the records for the former name. All new records are placed under the new name.
Similar Names
If a name could be considered either as one unit or two units, use a SEE ALSO cross reference.
The complete name is not cross referenced, only the similar name.
NORTHWEST NET SERVICES ALLSTATE INSURANCE
NORTH WEST
SEE ALSO NORTHWEST
ALL STATE
SEE ALSO ALLSTATE
Foreign Business Names
The English translation is written on the document to be stored and then stored under the English spelling. The cross reference would be the foreign version of the name.
Foreign Government Names
Write the English translation on each document to be stored and then store under the English spelling.
The cross reference would be the foreign version of the name.
OST184 Rules 1-10 and Cross Referencing Rules Page 4 of 6

Original
ONE STOP MORTGAGE
One Stop Mortgage
(A div. of National Bancorp)
555 Oregon Bldg.
San Francisco, CA 94102-0555
PLATINUM VISA SERVICES
Platinum VISA Services
(A subsidiary of National Bancorp.)
2250 SE Main St
Chicago, IL 60680-2250
Cross-Reference
NATIONAL BANCORP
SEE ONE STOP MORTGAGE
NATIONAL BANCORP
SEE PLATINUM VISA SERVICES
When one company is a subsidiary or a division or branch of another company, the name appearing on the letterhead is the one indexed on the original record.
Original
ATANDT CABLE SERVICES
AT&T Cable Services
1650 SW Broadway
Boston, MA 02174-1650
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
Verizon Communications
16540 SE Jennings Ave.
Lansing, MI 48912-1650
Cross-Reference
PARAGON CABLE
SEE ATANDT CABLE SERVICES
GTE
SEE VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS
 If there are only a few records under old name: (1) move old records to new name; (2) cross reference to old name; and (3) put new records put under new name.
 If there are many records under the old name: (1) old records remain in place under old name; (2) cross reference to new name; and (3) put new records put under new name.
Original
NORTHWEST NET SERVICES
Northwest Net Services
901 S. Main Street
Reno, NV 89509-0901
ALLSTATE ROAD SUPPLY
Allstate Road Supply
525 S. Main Street
BOISE, ID 83703-0500
NORTH WEST
Cross-Reference
SEE ALSO NORTHWEST
ALL STATE
SEE ALSO ALLSTATE
If a name could be considered either as one unit or two units, it is cross referenced. Only the similar name is cross referenced. The complete name is not cross referenced.
OST184 Rules 1-10 and Cross Referencing Rules Page 5 of 6

K LINE
K Line
850 SW High Street
Original
San Francisco, CA 94102-0850
VENEZUELAN LINE
Venezuelan Line
1950 N. High Street
Seattle, WA 98107-1950
Cross-Reference
KAWASAKI KISEN KALISHA LTD
SEE K LINE
VENEZOLANA DE NAVEGACION
SEE VENEZUELAN LINE
English translation is written on the document to be stored. Document is stored under the English spelling.
Original
BRAZIL FEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OF
Federative Republic of Brazil
Cross-Reference
REPUBLICA REDERATIVA DO BASIL
SEE BRAZIL FEDERATIVE REPLUBLIC OF
CYPRUS REPUBLIC OF
Republic of Cyprus
KYPPRIAKI DIMOKRATIO
(Greek Spelling)
SEE CYPRUS REPUBLIC OF
KIBRIS CUMHURIYETI
(Turkish Spelling)
SEE CYPRUS REPUBLIC OF
Write the English translation of the government name on each document to be stored. Store all documents under the
English spelling. A cross-reference is prepared using the foreign spelling.
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