How do I request access to restricted information in donated historical materials?
36 C.F.R. § 1256.32
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) At Presidential libraries and regional archives, you may write to the appropriate director at the facilities in part 1253 of this chapter. In the Washington, DC, area, you may write to the Director of Access Programs (NWC) for donated textual materials or the Director of Modern Records Programs (NWM) for donated electronic records. The mailing address for NWC and NWM is Office of Records Services—Washington, DC, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001.
(b) You may request a review of documents restricted under terms of a donor's deed of gift or other legal instrument to determine whether the conditions originally requiring the closure still exist. Your request must describe each document requested so that the staff can locate it with a reasonable amount of effort. For files that NARA previously screened, you may cite the reference to the withheld document as it appears on the withdrawal sheet.
(c) In many instances, the director or his or her designated representative will determine whether entire documents or portions of them can be opened. However, a donor or his or her representative reserves the right to determine whether the donor's materials, a series, or a document or portions of it should remain closed (see § 1256.36).
(d) For classified information in donated historical materials, you may file a mandatory review request under Executive Order 12958, as amended, as described in § 1256.74.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-36.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026