# Preservation Debt **Domain:** Digital Afterlife / Preservation / Infrastructure **Doc Type:** Canonical Concept **Maturity:** Developed **Evidence / Concept Status:** Corpus synthesis grounded in digital-preservation practice ## Definition **Preservation Debt** is the accumulated risk created when migrations, format documentation, fixity checks, dependency capture, rights records, or restoration tests are deferred while digital state continues to age. ## Continuity Significance A bitstream may still exist while its ability to be interpreted, authenticated, executed, or lawfully restored has decayed. The debt is paid through later remediation or realized as irreversible loss. ## Evidentiary Boundary / Red-Team Note The term is a corpus synthesis, not a current statutory accounting category. Any quantitative use must state the preservation horizon, dependencies, test method, and consequences of failure. ## Related Ontology [[wiki/UK National Archives Digital Continuity|UK National Archives Digital Continuity]] · [[wiki/Long-Term Digital Preservation|Long-Term Digital Preservation]] · [[wiki/Executable Preservation|Executable Preservation]] · [[wiki/Provider Mortality|Provider Mortality]]