Executive Order 13526

Executive Order 13526, signed in December 2009, is the current framework that defines who may classify national security information, the three levels of classification (Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret), and the conditions under which classified records must eventually be released. It also created the National Declassification Center to streamline review of historical holdings.

For recordkeeping, the order matters because classification status is a property that travels with a record throughout its lifecycle, shaping storage, access controls, marking, and disposition. Its best-known rule is automatic declassification: most permanently valuable classified records are declassified at 25 years from origin unless a specific, narrow exemption applies, with the most sensitive categories reviewable out to longer periods.

A concrete distinction worth keeping straight: declassification under this order is separate from controlled unclassified information (CUI), which is sensitive but was never classified. A record can lose its classified status yet still require redaction before public release under access statutes.