Headquarters Decentralized Files (RG 59)

The headquarters decentralized files consist of documents filed in the bureaus and offices in the Department of State and not as part of the central files. These records can be a valuable complement to the documentation found in the central files. Included are records of organizational units and records relating to certain functions, special subjects, events or individuals. Some documents duplicate items in the central file; many do not. Many of these records are the so-called "Lot Files."