Federal regulations · Through 2026-08-25 · Newer source version available

36 CFR 1256.78: How does NARA handle my mandatory review request?

(a) You may find our procedures for mandatory review and appeals of denials in part 1260 of this chapter, Declassification of National Security Information.
(1) When agencies provide declassification guidance and delegate declassification authority to the Archivist of the United States, NARA reviews for declassification and releases the requested information or those declassified portions of the request that constitute a coherent segment unless withholding is otherwise warranted under applicable law.
(2) When we do not have guidance from agencies, we coordinate the declassification review with the original classifying agency or agencies under the provisions of part 1260, subchapter D of this chapter.
(b) If we cannot identify the information you seek from the description you provide or if the volume of information you seek is so large that processing it would interfere with our capacity to serve all requesters on an equitable basis, we notify you that, unless you provide additional information or narrow the scope of your request, we cannot take further action.

Where this section sits in the code

Title 36—Parks, Forests, and Public Property
CHAPTER XII—NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION
SUBCHAPTER C—PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND USE
PART 1256—ACCESS TO RECORDS AND DONATED HISTORICAL MATERIALS
Subpart E—Access to Materials Containing National Security-Classified Information

(a) You may find our procedures for mandatory review and appeals of denials in part 1260 of this chapter, Declassification of National Security Information.

(1) When agencies provide declassification guidance and delegate declassification authority to the Archivist of the United States, NARA reviews for declassification and releases the requested information or those declassified portions of the request that constitute a coherent segment unless withholding is otherwise warranted under applicable law.

(2) When we do not have guidance from agencies, we coordinate the declassification review with the original classifying agency or agencies under the provisions of part 1260, subchapter D of this chapter.

(b) If we cannot identify the information you seek from the description you provide or if the volume of information you seek is so large that processing it would interfere with our capacity to serve all requesters on an equitable basis, we notify you that, unless you provide additional information or narrow the scope of your request, we cannot take further action.

Collected 2026-08-27T02:25:44Z. Source file · JSON

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