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Direct Offer Transfer Request Form Guidance

While drafting your Transfer Request, please complete the following fields, in addition to all ERA system requirements indicated by a red asterisk (*):

Major/Minor Subdivision:

These fields should contain information about the offices which created the records. Major subdivision refers to the broad organizational component that maintained the records, while minor subdivision refers to the specific office or unit. These fields should not be used to capture information about the transferring records management office.

Transfer Group Description:

This field should contain the series title. This title should reflect how your agency’s staff commonly refers to these records. Please omit information about the office that created the records, historical information about the series, and descriptive content from the disposition authority.

Access Restrictions:

This section of the Transfer Request provides information about whether members of the public can access the records.  For records that cannot be released, this section provides information on the type of restriction.

The Access Restriction Status field describes the overall restriction level of the transfer. :

  • Restricted - Fully: All containers in this transfer include access-restricted materials.
  • Restricted - Partly: Some containers in this transfer include access-restricted materials, while other containers are fully publicly available.
  • Unrestricted: All records in this transfer are fully publicly available.

While “Restricted - Possibly” and “Undetermined” are Access Restriction Status options on the Transfer Request form, please do not select these values.

If you select “Restricted - Fully” or “Restricted - Partly,” the Specific Access Restriction field is also mandatory.  The Specific Access Restriction field indicates the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) exemption under which the records should be held.  Please select the appropriate FOIA (b)(1)-(b)(9) restrictions.

If you select FOIA (b)(1) National Security, the Security Classification is also mandatory. The Security Classification field indicates the highest national security classification levels present in the transfer.

If you select FOIA (b)(3) Statute, the Statutory Citation is also mandatory. The Statutory Citation field indicates the specific statute under which the records should be held.

For transfers that include Restricted Data/Formerly Restricted Data (RD/FRD), please select the following values in the Access Restriction section:

  • Access Restriction Status: Restricted - Fully
  • Specific Access Restriction:
    • FOIA (b)(1) National Security
    • FOIA (b)(3) Statute
    • Any other applicable FOIA exemptions
  • Security Classification:
    • Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret
    • Restricted Data/Formerly Restricted Data
  • Statutory Citation:
    • 42 USC 2162(a)RD, Atomic Energy Act
    • 42 USC 2168(a)(1)(C)FRD, Atomic Energy Act

You can also use the Access Restriction Note field to capture additional information about the access restrictions that apply to the records.

Use Restrictions:

This section of the Transfer Request refers to copyright, donor, trademark, or other restrictions on how researchers may reproduce the records. Use restrictions do not impact researcher access to the records.

Current Physical Location of Records:

These fields contain information about where the records are located. The Agency Location field indicates whether the records are coming directly from an agency location or a Federal Records Center. For a direct offer, select Yes to display and complete the Agency Name and Address field.

Destination Physical Location of Records:

The Location field indicates which National Archives building will receive the records.  Once you have selected the building, the Destination Custodial Unit field will list the accessioning units located at that building. If you are unsure about which accessioning unit to choose from the list, please contact your accessioning archivist or local archival facility.

Below are all of the active Locations and Destination Custodial Units:

  • National Archives Building - Archives I (Washington, DC)
    • NWCT1P - Archives I Textual Processing Section
    • NWL - Center for Legislative Archives
  • National Archives at College Park - Archives II (College Park, MD)
    • NWCS-C - Cartographic and Architectural Records, Special Media Archives Services Division
    • NWCS-M - Motion Picture, Sound, and Video Recordings, Special Media Archives Services Division
    • NWCS-S - Still Picture Records, Special Media Archives Services Division
    • NWCT2P - Archives II Textual Processing Section
    • NWME - Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division
  • NRA Northeast Region
    • NRAAB - Archival Operations, Boston
    • NRAAN - Archival Operations, New York
  • NRB Mid-Atlantic Region
    • NRBA - Archival Operations, Philadelphia
  • NRC Southeast Region
    • NRCA - Archival Operations, Morrow
  • NRD Great Lakes Region
    • NRDA - Archival Operations, Chicago
  • NRE Central Plain Region
    • NREA - Archival Operations, Kansas City
  • NRF Southwest Region
    • NRFA - Archival Operations, Fort Worth
  • NRG Rocky Mountain Region
    • NRGA - Archival Operations, Denver
  • NRH Pacific Region
    • NRHAR - Archival Operations, Riverside
    • NRHAS - Archival Operations, San Bruno
  • NRI Pacific Alaska Region
    • NRIAS - Archival Operations, Seattle
  • NRP National Personnel Records Center
    • NRPAO - Archival Operations and Facility Planning Branch, Archival Programs Division
    • NRPCO - Civilian Operations Branch, Office of the Assistant Director for Civilian Records
    • NRPMO - Military Operations Branch, Office of the Assistant Director for Military Records

Physical Media Type and Guidance:

These fields capture information about occurrences of specific media types. For textual records, place the number of containers in the Quantity field, and select the appropriate media type in the Transfer Media Type field. For non-textual records, please refer to our accessioning unit-specific guidance.

List of Containers:

This section contains information about the containers covered under the Transfer Request.  Each container type should have its own line, indicating the quantity of that type of container in the transfer. The bottom right corner of the section also has a field for capturing the sequence of container numbers (i.e. 1-23).

Attachments:

This tab allows users to upload supplementary documents relating to the transfer.  Each direct offer Transfer Request must have a finding aid attached at the time of submission to the National Archives. Classified records transfers must also have a completed NA-14130 Classified Transfer Check List attached.  Please include the Transfer Request number in the name of the attachment (ie. TR-0200-2016-0001_File List). Examples of other common types of attachments include memoranda and relevant correspondence.

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