The significance depends on the fact the record must establish and the evidence otherwise available. Counsel should assess applicable alternatives; an unexplained gap should not be concealed or assumed irrelevant.
Investigate before drafting around the problem
Request the missing record from its custodian and document genuine unavailability where appropriate. Identify other reliable records that may establish the same transaction or ownership history. Do not fabricate a replacement or backdate a declaration.
A source narrative should clearly distinguish proven facts from matters needing support, so the filing decision is based on the actual evidence. Missing records fail in two distinct ways that call for different responses. One is a record that exists but has not been requested yet, where the only real cost is the time to obtain it.
The other is a record that no longer exists, where the file needs an account of the loss, evidence of the attempt to retrieve it, and whatever secondary material can establish the same fact. Hypothetical example: a tool and die maker sold a shop through a broker who has since closed, so reconstructing the price paid depends on tax filings and the buyer’s records rather than on the vanished transaction file. Treating the second case as though it were the first is the error, because the question resurfaces months later with the alternatives still unassembled.