Executive Order 12958

Your General Rights--Balancing National Security and the Public's Right To Know

Signed by President Clinton on 17 April 1995 before becoming effective in October 1995, Executive Order (EO) 12958 outlined a uniform system for classifying, safeguarding, and declassifying national security information. It was designed to prevent overclassification of federal documents through improved standards for government classifiers; and, more importantly for the public, it promoted openness by emphasizing declassification of documents, especially for specific records of permanent historical value. The discussion of the EO outlined below is only intended to highlight the most significant provisions of the EO (for more detailed information, see full text of EO and Code of Federal Regulations, Central Intelligence Agency, 32 CFR).

Your Right to Seek Declassification of CIA Information Under EO 12958

What Kinds of Records CIA Collects

To better understand the information which is available, users should note that the CIA was organized pursuant to the National Security Act of 1947 and that its primary mission is the collection and analysis of foreign intelligence information for use by our nation's leadership; the CIA has no police, subpoena, law enforcement, or internal security functions.

Public Access

Of particular importance to the public under this EO, US citizens gained greater access to US Government documents through the higher and uniform standards required of US Government classifiers to restrict information. The public also gained the ability to challenge the classification level of classified US Government documents by requesting that a specific document be reviewed for declassification and release to the public. Most of these requests, however, come from individuals doing research at Presidential libraries, which are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA), or at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) because of the requirement for specific document identification.

Access by Historical Researchers and Former Presidential Appointees

Historical researchers and former Presidential appointees may request access through the Agency's Information and Privacy Coordinator to classified CIA records.

Limits To Access

General Public

Requesters must describe the document or material to be declassified in enough detail--for example, NARA Document Accession Number or other unique document identifier--for the Agency to locate it with a reasonable effort. Broad or topical requests for records on a particular subject may not be accepted under this EO. Moreover, requests for documents in Presidential libraries must first be processed by the staffs of those institutions who in turn forward them to the Agency. The Agency will deny any request involving information that has had a classification review within the previous two years or is the subject of pending litigation in the federal courts. In addition, a request will not be accepted if the requester owes fees for information services under this EO or the FOIA at this or any other federal agency.

Requirements for Access by Historical Researchers or Former Presidential Appointees

Those seeking historical access under the EO must meet the definitions of former Presidential appointee or historical researcher (select "Requesting Declassification or Historical Access"). The requester, in most cases, must meet other requirements such as outlining a serious, professional, or scholarly research project and signing a non-disclosure and pre-publication agreement. Moreover, the Agency will consider fairness issues and administrative resource needs to support the requester (select "Requesting Declassification or Historical Access").

Other Non-EO Avenues for General Public, Academic, or Historical Access

The Agency Voluntarily Provides Important Historical Information

To further discharge its responsibilities to historians and the academic community, the CIA has established and currently operates a Historical Review Program. Through this program, the CIA declassifies and releases records of historical importance to the public through NARA. The objective of the program is to increase public understanding of the role of intelligence by opening such records for research. Among the records that have been released to date are 400 National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on the former Soviet Union; documents on the Cuban Missile Crisis; numerous articles from our internal scholarly journal, "Studies in Intelligence"; and monographs on various intelligence topics. Requests may be directed to the NARA address below or the Information and Privacy Coordinator, Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C. 20505.

In 1984, the Agency entered into a voluntary agreement with NARA to review for declassification and transfer to NARA the records of the Office of Strategic Services, the CIA's World War II predecessor organization. The vast majority of these records, some 10 million pages, are also available for research and review at the NARA address below:

Lastly, please note that President Clinton on 22 February 1995 signed an additional Executive Order on information release that sets the stage for the declassification and transfer to NARA and the US Geological Survey of a large collection of satellite imagery from the early programs known as Corona, Argon, and Lanyard (Executive Order 12951). As of April 1995, an information packet containing general information, prints of our sample satellite images, and a color image for comparison purposes is available from the US Geological Survey at a cost of $25. Requests should be directed to:

Mission

Freedom of Information Act

Executive Order 12958

Your General Rights--Balancing National Security and the Public's Right To Know

Your Right to Seek Declassification of CIA Information Under EO 12958

Limits To Access

Other Non-EO Avenues for General Public, Academic, or Historical Access