REVISION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER 12065

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00933R000400070002-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 28
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 12, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: June 19, 1981
• Content Type: FORM

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Revision of Executive Order 12065 OGP _A =_-~-e _
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19 June 1981
TO: (Officer designa)ian, room number, and
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DATE
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D/Communications
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2A-03
The attached memo from OGC
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re E.O. 12065 is self-explanatory.
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Should you wish to comment, pis
forward a blind memorandum to
D/Finance
the EO/DDA no later than noon on
1212 Ke Bldg.
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Wednesday, 24 June. A.telephonic
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negative comment would be
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D/Information Services
appreciated in the event you agree
1206 Amas Bldg.
with the latest revision of the
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OGC 81-05127
:18 June 1981
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director, National Foreign Assessment
Center
Deputy Director for Operations
Deputy Director for Science and Technology
Deputy Director for. Administration
Comptroller
Legislative Counsel
Director of Personnel
Director of Public Affairs
Director, Equal Employment Opportunity
Director of Security
Special Assistant to the DCI for
Compartmentation
Director of Information Services, DDA
Office of Genera Counsel
0
SUBJECT: Revision of Executive Order 12065
1. Enclosed is a revised draft of proposed changes to
Executive Order 12065. Unlike previous drafts, this revision is
not simply a series of suggested amendments or deletions, but is
instead a comprehensive rewrite of the entire executive order on
classification. The purpose of this revised order is to ensure
the adequate protection of national security information while
simplifying the actual administration of the classification
process at each agency. This is done primarily by-;providing
agencies with greater latitude to adopt procedures which
accomodate individual needs and functions, rather than imposing
uniform procedural requirements in the executive order itself.
2. The interagency working group will be meeting to address
the enclosed draft sometime this month. Any comments concerning
this draft should be communicated to me (x6585, Red 9049) no
later than Wednesday, June 24, 1981.
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Executive Order
National Security Information
It is vital'that certain information in the Government's
ion be uniformly protected against unauthorized
disclosure. It also is essential that the public be informed
concerning the activities of its Government. The interests of
the United States and its citizens require that certain
information concerning our national defense and foreign relations
be given only limited dissemination. To ensure that such
information is adequately safeguarded, this Order identifies the
information to be so protected, prescribes classification,
declassification, and safeguarding standards to be followed, and
establishes a monitoring system to ensure its effectiveness.
SECTION 1. ORIGINAL CLASSIFICATION.
1-1.. Classification De 3ignacion.
1-101. Information or material that requires protection
against unauthorized disclosure in the interest of national
security shall be classified in one of the three categories
listed below. 'Information and material shall be protected at an
appropriate level of classification until a final determination 1
is made as to the need for protection and the level of required
protection. No other categories of classification shall be used
to identify information or material as requiring protection in
the interest of national security, except as otherwise provided
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by statute. Nothing in this Order shall be construed as limiting
the protection afforded national security information by other
provisions of law.
1-102. "Top Secret" shall be applied to information, the
unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to
cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.
1-103. "Secret" shall be applied to information, the
unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to
cause serious damage to the national security.
1w-104. "Confidential" shall be applied to information, the
unau'- .:ized disclosure of which reasonably.cc;uld be expected to
cause damage to the national security.
1-2. Classification .Authority.
1-201. Top Secret. Authority for original classification,
of information as Top Secret may be exercised only by the
President, by such agency heads or officials as the President may
designate by publication in the Federal Register? and by
officials to whom such authority is delegated in accordance with
Section 1-204.
1-202. -Secret. Authority for original classification of
information as Secret may be exercised only by such agency heads
or officials as the President may designate by publication in tYie
Federal Register,.by officials who have Top Secret classification
authority, and by officials to whom such authority is delegated
in accordance with Section 1-204.
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1-203. Confidential. Authority for original classification
of information as Confidential may be exercised only by such
agency heads or officials as the President may designate by
publication in the Federal Register, by officials who have Top
Secret or Secret classification authority, and by officials to
.whom such authority is delegated in accordance with Section 1-
204.
1-204. Limitation on Delegation of Original Classification
Author jt .
N? COY, is i c /GsSr~,c ''ra C' l~
(a) Authority -to originally classify information as
O-
Secret may be delegated only to princip subordinate
officials who have a need to-exercise such authority as
determined-by the President, by agency heads designated
pursuant to section 1-201 or by senior officials. designated
in writing to exercise this authority by such agency beads.
For-
(b) Authority to-originally classify information as
Secret may be delegated only to subordinate officials who
have a need to exercise such authority as determined by the
? President, by agency heads designated pursuant to Section 1-
201 and 1-202, and by officials with Top Secret
classification authority.
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(c) Authority to originally classify information as
Confidential may be delegated only to subordinate officials
who have a need to exezc.ise such authority as-determined by
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 the pgz eesd d?en t 2a0c~~~~3}ieCPt1 to
Section 1-201, 1-202, and 1-203, and by officials with Top
Secret classification authority.
(d) Delegated original classification authority may
not be redelegated.
(e) Each delegation of original classification
authority shall be in writing by name or title of position
held.
(f) Delegations o.f original classification authority
8 a' l1 be limited to the absolute minimum*'required to
exercise such authority
to effectively and efficiently
adminis_t_er_ this Orde Agency heads shall implement
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procedures that ensure that official ss-so--designated? have a
demonstrable and continuing need to exercise such authority.
1-205. Exceptional Cases. When an employee or contractor
of an agency that does not have original classification authority
originates information believed to require classification, the
information-shall be protected in a manner consistent with this
Order and .its implementing. directives. The information shall-be,
transmitted promptly under adequate safeguards to the agency
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which has appropriate subject matter interest and classification
authority with respect to this information.- That agency shall
decide within 30 days whether tp classify this information. If
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it is not clear which agency has classification responsibility
for this information, it shall be sent to the Director of the
Information Security Oversight Office for review. The Director
shall consult with any agency determined to have a subject matter
interest in this information before making any decision in this
regard.
1-3. Classification Requirements.
1?301. Information may be considered for classification,
and io thus classifiable, if it concerns:
(a) military plans, weapons, or operations;
(b) the vulnerabilities or capabilities of systems,
installations, projects,! Or plans vital to the national
security;
(c) foreign government information;
.(d) intelligence activities, sources or methods;
.(e) foreign relations or'foreign activities of the
,United States;
(f) scientific,'technological, or economic matters
relating to the national security;
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(g) United States Government programs for safeguarding
nuclear materials or facilities;
(h) cryptology;
(i) an individual whose life or safety may be placed
in jeopardy by-disclosure of such information;
(j) techniques, procedures or material relating to the
protective mission of the United States Secret Service; or
(k) other categories of information which are related
to national security and which require protection against
'unauthorized disclosure as determined by senior agency
officials designated pursuant to Section 5-404(a).
1-302. Information which is determined to concern one or
more of the criteria in Section 1-301 may be classified only when
an original classification authority also determines that its
unauthorized disclosure reasonably could be expected to cause
damage .to the national security. In_considering whether the
disclosure of information could be-expected-to cause damage to
the national security, it is not necessary to consider such
information in isolation. 'Information may be classified if its
unauthorized disclosure, in Conjunction with one or more other
disclosures, reasonably could be expected to cause such damage.
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1-303. Unauthorized disclosure of foreign government
information, information which could compromise the identity o
confidential - source, or information relating to intelligence
sources, methods, andactivities is presumed to cause damage to
the national security. / The classification status of the above
described information shall not be affected by any unofficial
publication in the United States or abroad of identical or
similar information.
1-4 Duration of Classification.
1,--40.1. Information shall be classified for as long as
requrreed by national security considerations. Guidelines shall
be developed by agencies to ensure the.effectiveness and
integrity of the classification system while eliminating the
accumulation of classified information which no longer requires
protection. These guidelines shall facilitate the identific.ation
of information which should be considezed for downgrading or
declassification based on the degree to which the passage of time
or the occurrence of.a specific event or events may have
eliminated or reduced the original national security sensitivity
of this information. To the extent practicable, original
classification authorities shall set a specific date or event for
declassification at the time the information is originally
classified.
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1-5. Identification and Markings.
1-501. At the time of original classification, the
following should be shown on the face of all classified
documents, and prominently displayed, where practicable, on all
other forms of classified -information, except where such markings
would reveal a confidential source or relationship not otherwise
evidenf. from the face of such documents or information:
(a) the office of origin;
(h) if appropriate, the date or event for
declassification or review; and
(c) one of the three classification designations
defined in Section 1-1.
1-502. Only the designations Top Secret, Secret, or
Confidential may be used to identify classified information.
Markings such as "For Official Use Only" and "Limited Official
Use" may not be'used for that purpose. Terms such as "Sensitive"
or "Agency" may not be used in conjunction with the classifi-
cation designations prescribed by this Order; e.g., "Agency
Confidential" or ".Sensitive/Secret."
1-503. Each classified document,_to the extent practicable,
shall be marked or shall otherwise indicate which portions are
classified with the appropriate classification designation, and
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which portions are not classified. -Agency heads designated
pursuant to Section 1-2 may, for good cause, except specified
classes of documents or information from this portion.-marking
requitement.
1-504. Foreign government information shall either retain
its original classification designation or be assigned a United
States classification designation that shall ensure a degree of
protection equivalent to that required by the entity .that
furnished the information. -
1-505. Classified documents that contain or reveal
information that is subject to special dissemination and
repto(.1tiction limitations authorized by this Order shall be marked
clearly so as to place the user on notice of the restrictions.
1-6. Prohibitions.
1-601. Classification shall be determined solely on the
bat-is of national security considerations. In no case shall
information be classified in order. to conceal violations of law,
inefficiency or administrative error, to prevent embarrassment to
a person, organization or agency, or to restrain competition,--
or to prevent for any other reason the release of information
which does not require protection in the interest of national
security.
1-602. Classification-may not be used to limit
dissemination of information that is not classifiable under the
provisions of this Order or, to prevent or delay the public
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release of such information.
1-603. A document may be classified after an agency has
received a request for the document under the Freedom of
Information Act or the Mandatory Review provisions of this Order
(Section 3-4) if such classification is consistent with this
Order and is authorized by the agency head, the deputy agency
head, or by a senior agency official designated pursuant to
Section 5-404. Classification authority under this provision
shall be exercised personally, on a document-by-document basis.
1-604. Information which has been reviewed for
decla sw:;i1 icatiori under the procedural and substantive criteria of
E.O. 12065 pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act or Mandatory
Review eeguest which is still pending at the time this Order
becomes effective, need not be rereviewed under the provisions of
this Order.
SECTION 2. (DERIVATIVE CLASSIFICATION.
2-1. Use of Derivative Classification.
2-101. Original classification authority shall not be
delegated to persons who only reproduce, extract, or summarize
classified information, or who only apply classification markings
derived from source material or as directed by a classification
guide.
2-102. Persons who apply such derivative classification
markings shall:
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(a) observe and respect original classification
decisions, which shall not be altered by the use of a
classification level, time limit, or other marking different
from the original on any copy, extract,, paraphrase,
restatement, or summary of any classified item except as
specified under approved procedures for downgrading,
declassification, or classification review in accordance
with.Section 3 below; and
(b) carry forward to any newly created documents any
kns igned dates or events for declassification or review and
any additional authorized markings. A single marking may be
used for documents based on-multiple sources.
2-2. .Classification Guides.
2-201. Agencies may promulgate classification guides to
facilitiate the proper and uniform classification of
information. These guides may also be used to direct derivative
classification. To the extent that information is classified
pursuant to these guides, such classification is derivative
classification and will be marked accordingly.
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