---
kind: "section"
citation: "36 C.F.R. § 1250.10"
title: "36"
number: "1250.10"
heading: "Do I need to use FOIA to gain access to records at NARA?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/36/1250.10"
---

# §1250.10. Do I need to use FOIA to gain access to records at NARA?

- (a) Most archival records held by NARA have no restrictions to access and are available to the public for research without filing a FOIA request. You may either visit a NARA facility as a researcher to view and copy records or you may write to request copies of specific records. (See [subpart B](/cfr/36/subpartB.md) of [36 CFR part 1256](/cfr/36/part1256.md) for more information about how to access archival records).
- (b) If you are seeking access to archival records that are not yet available to the public, you need to file a FOIA request. (See [36 CFR 1256.22](/cfr/36/1256.22.md) for information on how to request access to restricted archival records. See [paragraph (d)](#d) of this section, and [part 1260](/cfr/36/part1260.md), for additional procedures on access to classified records.)
- (c) You must also file a FOIA request when you request access to NARA operational records (records NARA creates) that are not already available to the public.
- (d) If you are requesting records that you know are classified to protect national security interests, you may wish to use the Mandatory Declassification Review process, which is set forth at [36 CFR 1260.70](/cfr/36/1260.70.md). (Please see NARA's FOIA Guide, available online at http://www.archives.gov/foia/foia-guide.html, for the differences between the FOIA and Mandatory Declassification Review access processes.)

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2104(a) and 2204 (3)(c)(1); 5 U.S.C. 552; Public Law 114-185; E.O. 13526; E.O. 12600; 52 FR 23781; 3 CFR, 1987 Comp., p. 235.

### Source

Source: 79 FR 56504, Sept. 22, 2014, unless otherwise noted.