# Legal Hold Administration

When a trial, product, etc. enters litigation, it may be necessary to preserve or audit any changes made to related documents. Users can apply a "legal hold" to documents by relating them to a _Legal Hold_ object record. Admins can configure the _Legal Hold_ object to [define the scope of legal holds][1]. Once Vault <a href="/en/gr/36799/">matches documents</a>
 to a _Legal Hold_ object record, Vault creates _Legal Hold Item_ records as children of the _Legal Hold_, each _Legal Hold Item_ representing a document matched with the _Legal Hold_.

## How to Enable Legal Hold

From **Admin > Settings > General Settings > Documents**, select the **Enable Legal Hold** checkbox.

## Adding Legal Hold Scope Fields {#scope_fields}

You can configure the custom _Legal Hold_ object that Veeva provides by <a href="/en/gr/15057/">adding up to five (5)</a>
 fields defining the scope of a legal hold. Users can then create _Legal Hold_ object records and provide specific values for the scope fields. For example, adding a _Product_ field enables the Legal User to easily apply a legal hold on all _Cholecap_ documents at once.

Not all fields are valid as matching fields. You must use the following field types:

  * Picklist
  * Object reference

You can also use an object field that corresponds to a document lookup field. For example, a _Legal Hold_ object could have an _Indication_ field, pointing to the _Indication_ object. A document type could have a lookup field, referencing the _Indication_ field on the _Product_ object. Doing a universal apply on a legal hold with the value _Headache_ in the _Indication_ field will match all documents with the _Indication_ lookup field value of _Headache_.

The related document fields can be multi-value, but fields on the _Legal Hold_ object must be single-value.

Scope fields affect the Vault's application of legal holds. Users can still apply a legal hold to single documents outside of the scope or by using a bulk action.

<div class="note-border alert-info">
  <div class="alert alert-info" role="alert">
    <div><i class="far fa-info-circle"></i></div>
    <div class="alert-text">
      <p><strong>Note</strong>: When adding a field to the <em>Legal Hold</em> object, ensure the value in the <em>Name</em> field matches that of a document field. For example, if you add a <em>Product Family</em> field to the <em>Legal Hold</em> object with the <em>Name</em> value <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">product_family__c</code>, the <em>Product Family</em> document field must include the same <em>Name</em> value.</p>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>



## Document Migration Mode {#migration_mode}

Vault cannot automatically apply legal holds to documents created or updated in <a href="/en/gr/54028/">Document Migration Mode</a>
. This could fill the job with potentially millions of documents. If you add documents matching the scope of an _Approved_ legal hold using Document Migration Mode, Vault will not match those documents to the legal hold.

To match those documents with the _Approved_ legal hold:

  1. Navigate to the legal hold object record, either through **Business Admin > Objects** or a custom tab.
  2. From the **Actions** menu, click **Reevaluate Legal Hold**.
  3. The **Apply Action** dialog opens. Click **Continue**.
  4. Vault performs an asynchronous job to apply the legal hold to any document that matches the legal hold scope and does not already have a legal hold applied.
  5. When the job completes, a notice will appear in your **Notifications** page and Vault will send you an email.

## Related Permissions

The _Legal Actions_ permission set grants all necessary permissions for legal hold administration.

<table class="wbord">
  <tr>
    <td>
      <strong>Type</strong>
    </td>
    <td>
      <strong>Permission Label</strong>
    </td>
    <td>
      <strong>Controls</strong>
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr class="alt-table-row">
    <td>
      Security Profile
    </td>
    <td>
      Application: Legal User
    </td>
    <td>
      Ability to read, create, edit, and delete records in the <em>Legal Hold</em> object.
    </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Object
    </td>
    <td>
      Legal Hold: Edit
    </td>
    <td>
      Ability to edit the <em>Legal Hold</em> object, including adding and removing scoping fields.
    </td>
  </tr>
</table>

 [1]: #scope_fields