The repository shall follow documented procedures if a SIP is not incorporated into an AIP or discarded and shall indicate why the SIP was not incorporated or discarded.

This is necessary in order to ensure that the SIPs received have been dealt with appropriately, and in particular have not been accidentally lost.

System processing files; disposal records; donor or depositor agreements/deeds of gift; provenance tracking system; system log files; process description documents; documentation of SIP relationship to AIP; clear documentation of how AIPs are derived from SIPs; documentation of standard/process against which normalization occurs; documentation of normalization outcome and how the resulting AIP is different from the SIP(s).

The timescale of this process will vary between repositories from seconds to many months, but SIPs must not remain in an unprocessed limbo-like state forever. The accessioning procedures and the internal processing and audit logs should maintain records of all internal transformations of SIPs to demonstrate that they either become AIPs (or part of AIPs) or are disposed of. Appropriate descriptive information should also document the provenance of all digital objects.

Through Registry (a webUI) and a REST API, APTrust provides access to Work Items which contain the status of the ingest in process.

If a bag is invalid, the in-process item is marked as invalid and the bag is not ingested.