A Guide to Presidential Papers, Congressional Papers, and Classified Materials

Classified materials and classified information can be found in the papers of federal officials, including the President, the Vice President, U.S. Senators, and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Classified documents and information can also be found in the papers of contractors who work under a federal contract. In all cases, there are clear guidelines for how classified materials must be stored, as well as instructions on how to handle them and, if discovered, to return them to the proper agency. 

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) oversees several agencies that work to educate the public and other agencies about classified information and the declassification process. Some sources for guidance about classified materials are NARA's Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO), the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP), and the National Declassification Center (NDC). The NDC's motto is "Releasing All We Can, Protecting What We Must." In addition, different agencies such as the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) release their own information about how to handle their classified information.

According to the ISOO:

Information can only be classified if an official determination is made that its unauthorized release would damage the national security.
There are three classification levels:
•    TOP SECRET – applied to information that, if inadvertently released, would cause “exceptionally grave damage to the national security”
•    SECRET – applied to information that would cause “serious damage” to national security
•    CONFIDENTIAL – information that would cause damage

In addition to these categories, there is an additional level of “TOP SECRET WITH CODEWORD.” In the case of "Top Secret with Codeword," only individuals who have not only the proper security clearance but also the required codeword are allowed to view these protected materials. Such materials cannot leave the secure area in which they are stored, and they can not remove the materials from that room or take a copy with them. In general, all classified materials can not be removed from federally approved sites, unless an authorized individual is taking the materials to a meeting at another authorized location.

In order to indicate that a document is classified, the issuing agency will mark the item with its classification level on the top and/or bottom. For instance, the words "Confidential," "Secret," or "Top Secret" will appear on the document. Some agencies, like the Department of State, will sometimes mark certain documents as “Unclassified,” so that there is no confusion as to the classification level.

Classified materials are often textual documents, but they are not limited to text and can also be photographs, maps, videotapes, and in other formats. Even handwritten notes taken during a briefing can be considered as classified information.

Only a U.S. government declassification authority – often the agency that originally released the material – can declassify any classified information.

The following list of books and articles is only a small sampling of items available. Try searching in IUCAT under the keywords "Security classification--Government documents"