The designation For Official Use Only is assigned to official information that requires protection according to statutory requirements or in the public interest, but does not require safeguarding in the interest of national defense.

A security classification may not be used to conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; to prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency; or to restrain competition.

AUTHORITY TO CLASSIFY

The authority to assign a security classification is restricted to those officials who have been designated the authority in writing.

Original Classification

One important aspect of classification that is commonly misunderstood is the difference between original and derivative classification. Original classification is warranted only when information requiring classification is generated and classification cannot be derived from information that was classified previously. For example, information pertaining to a technological breakthrough or a significant scientific advance generally requires original classification authority.

Derivative Classification

The majority of classified material you work with is the product of derivative classification. As the word implies, this type of classification is based on and obtained from a previous classification. Derivative classification is applied when the information presented is the same (or closely related to) as other information that already is assigned a classification.

Suppose you are making photographs for a report of Iraqi warships in the South China Sea If the report is based on a source document that states that such photographs should be classified, your classification is derived from that source. Or suppose you take pictures of a radar system that is classified Secret. Then the picture, the negatives, the test prints, and the enlargements are also classified Secret. The classification of the pictures is derived from the classification of the radar system. Most of the information classified derivatively is taken from documents classified previously. Whenever you copy or extract classified information, you must ensure that the extracted information bears the same classification in the new document (such as a photograph) as it did in the source document.

In marking a derivatively classified document, you must cite the source of that classification or authority (e.g., CNO ltr, ser OP-009 of 1 Oct 93) on the classified by line. Records must be available for the lifetime of the document to show the basis for classification or to trace the chain of classification authority.