Planning a visit to the NRL main site
NRL is located in the Southwest quadrant of Washington, convenient to downtown, the Pentagon, and Bolling Air Force Base (also known as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling), and sits just across the Potomac River from Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.
Naval Research Laboratory
4555 Overlook Ave. S.W.
Washington, DC 20375
NRL is a controlled-access facility. Prior arrangements must be made with an NRL point of contact before visiting the Laboratory. Unless otherwise instructed by your NRL host, visitors must check in at the NRL Visitor Center, Bldg. 72, located just outside and to the right of the Laboratory's front gate. If your host has not informed you that you are pre-registered, you are required to fill out an NRL Visitor Pass request form upon arrival in the Visitor Center. You may download the form below and fill it out prior to your arrival to speed up your processing through the Visitor Center. Non-DoD visitors are also required to fill out and submit SECNAV form 5512-1 to the Visitor Center upon check-in to the Laboratory.
Download: NRL Visitor Request Form
Download: SECNAV Form 5512-1
You must have your driver's license in your possession when checking in through visitor control. You will not be admitted without proper photo identification and if driving on base you will be required to show your driver's license at the gate. Visits by foreign nationals require special processing. Foreign nationals must provide valid documents, either an original passport or an original green card for entry into the Laboratory. For more information, you may contact the NRL Visitor Center on 202-767-2996.