Declassification & Transparency Initiatives

NSA releases declassified records in accordance with the law to promote transparency.
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Overview

NSA reviews records and makes them publicly available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or Mandatory Declassification Review provisions of Executive Order 13526. We periodically conduct "Special Topical Reviews" of categories of records for release. In accordance with the federal Open Government directive, we also identify and release subjects and records for which there is a general public interest. NSA releases the following policies and procedures related to managing and releasing records, which are frequently requested by the public, and other general policies.
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Archived Releases

NSA reviews for declassification all permanently classified documents 25 years or older under the provisions of Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information”, dated 29 December 2009 and routinely releases them to the National Archives Records Administration (NARA). Documents released to NARA include this index of 4,923 entries of approximately 1.3 million pages from the pre-World War I period through the end of World War II; and this index of entries of more than 50,000 pages covering the period from before World War 1 through the 1960s.

FOIA Reports and Releases

NSA releases annual FOIA reports and other declassified documents to promote transparency.
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NSA Inspector General Reports

This collection contains semi-annual reports to Congress and summaries of investigations conducted by NSA's Inspector General that are responsive to multiple FOIA requests.
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Historical Releases

NSA releases archived materials on special topics, including documents, events and figures.
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Internal Periodicals & Publications

NSA releases archived periodicals and publications frequently requested by the public.
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