Office of Technical Guidance
(Reports to the Office of Classification)

Mission and Functions

Mission
The Office of Technical Guidance develops, promulgates, and interprets national level policies, procedures, and guidance to identify (1) information that must be classified or controlled under statute or Executive order to protect the national security, to ensure the effective operation of the Government, or to protect the privacy interests of individuals and (2) classified or controlled information that may be declassified or decontrolled.

Functions

• Manages the development and interpretation of DOE-wide technical classification and control guidance that contains detailed instructions to determine whether specific information is classified, controlled, or unclassified.
• Manages the approval of local guidance developed by field and contractor organizations to ensure it conforms to Headquarters policy and guidance.
• Manages the development of classification and declassification standards as required for international agreements for cooperation under the Atomic Energy Act.
• Manages the review and evaluation of foreign classification policies and procedures established under international agreements for cooperation to ensure compliance.
• Manages the evaluation of private sector information to determine if the Secretary of Energy needs to make an original determination regarding new technologies that show potential for uranium enrichment.
• Manages a continuous review of classification policy and guidance for Restricted Data (RD) and Formerly Restricted Data (FRD) information as required by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and recommends for approval by the Chief Health, Safety, and Security Officer all actions to declassify RD and FRD information.
• Develops improvements under the Guidance Streamlining Initiative for the development, maintenance, and use of classification guides and the Classification Guidance System.
• Publishes and distributes Headquarters classification guidance, the guide index, and standards, and the Classification Guidance System and its products.
• Conducts field liaison to promote and establish common classification productivity objectives.