Frequently Asked Questions about JFK Assassination Records
Table of Contents
- After President Trump’s Executive Order, why aren’t all JFK assassination-related records publicly available yet?
- What is an "assassination-related" record?
- How will I learn about newly released records?
- Why aren’t all of the records online?
- Why are a few of the records sealed?
- Why are there multiple releases?
- What do you know about the "backyard photographs"?
- Can I see the artifacts?
- Can I access the autopsy report?
- Are the images in the Collection public domain or under copyright?
- Where is the Zapruder film? Can I get a copy of it?
- I am interested in acquiring copies of some of the records in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. What is the process to do so?
- Can I view President Kennedy’s clothing?
- Can I view Mrs. Kennedy’s pink suit?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
After President Trump’s Executive Order, why aren’t all JFK assassination-related records publicly available yet?
President Trump’s Executive Order on the Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (E.O. 14176) required that the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, present a plan for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) looks forward to implementing the plan at the President’s direction and in coordination with the originating agencies.
What is an "assassination-related" record?
The official definition of an assassination-related record was established by the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), which was given the responsibility by the Kennedy Act. The definition, which can be found in Chapter 2, page 18 of the ARRB Report, reads:
(a) An assassination record includes, but is not limited to, all records, public and private, regardless of how labeled or identified, that document, describe, report on, analyze, or interpret activities, persons, or events reasonably related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and investigations of or inquiries into the assassination.
(b) An assassination record further includes, without limitation:
(1) All records as defined in Sec. 3(2) of the JFK Act;
(2) All records collected by or segregated by all federal, state, and local government agencies in conjunction with any investigation or analysis of or inquiry into the assassination of President Kennedy (for example, any intra-agency investigation or analysis of or inquiry into the assassination; any inter-agency communication regarding the assassination; any request by the House Select Committee on Assassinations to collect documents and other materials; or any inter- or intra-agency collection or segregation of documents and other materials);
(3) Other records or groups of records listed in the Notice of Assassination Record Designation, as described in §1400.8 of this chapter.
The federal government created assassination-related records for a variety of reasons. Even before November 22, 1963, a few agencies maintained information on certain individuals later linked with the assassination. Many agencies gathered and created records immediately following the assassination in pursuit of investigations or ongoing business. Still more agencies assembled material in response to the five formal commissions or committees established to investigate various aspects of the assassination or related subjects. Records reflecting all of these functions comprise the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection.
To research records specifically regarding Kennedy’s administration, please visit the John F. Kennedy Library.
How will I learn about newly released records?
Newly released records will be accessible on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection web page.
Why aren’t all of the records online?
The JFK Assassination Records Collection consists of millions of pages, photographs, electronic items, and artifacts, most of which are available for public access at the National Archives at College Park, MD. The National Archives is currently prioritizing the digitization of these records to make them more widely accessible online. Since January 2024, over 700,000 pages have been digitized and made available through the National Archives Catalog.
Why are a few of the records sealed?
Congress created the Collection when it passed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. This statute directed all federal agencies to transmit all records relating to the assassination in their custody to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Act also created a temporary agency, the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), to ensure that the agencies complied with the Act.
Virtually all of the records identified as belonging to the Collection have been opened in part or in full. Those documents that are closed in part or in full were done so in accordance with the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992.
The Act provided for the protection of various types of information for 25 years. Information that continued to be protected after 25 years could only be withheld under Section 5, Section 10, or Section 11 of the Act. These sections deal with information that would cause harm to military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations if released, is sealed by a court, subject to grand jury secrecy protections, or tax returns.
Each agency proposing continued postponement of information beyond December 15, 2022 prepared an unclassified Transparency Plan that details the event-based or circumstance-based conditions that would trigger the public disclosure of postponed information.
On January 23, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14176, titled “Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr,” which stated that “Within 15 days of the date of this order, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General shall, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, present a plan to the President for the full and complete release of records relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.”
Newly released records will be accessible on the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection web page.
Why are there multiple releases?
Records in the Collection have been periodically re-reviewed for additional information that can be released and then subsequently released to the public.
What do you know about the "backyard photographs"?
There are three different backyard photographs. Two were located at the time of the Warren Commission and are filed as CE 133A and 133B. A third was discovered by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and is filed as HSCA F Exhibit F-180. An explanation of the history of all three photographs is located in HSCA Report, Volume II, pp. 319–322.
Can I see the artifacts?
It is NARA policy to make evidentiary objects available for viewing only when a researcher's needs cannot be met by a review of photographs, reproductions, or descriptions of the object and when production of the original will not cause damage or harm to the original. We encourage researchers to review the digitized preservation photographs of the "Exhibits and Other Evidence from the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Warren Commission), 1959–1964" that are available through the National Archives Catalog.
We will be glad to consider your request to see the physical evidence in person if you will:
- Identify which specific exhibit or exhibits you wish to see. A general request to see all of the physical exhibits is not sufficient.
- Indicate which of the photographs, drawings, measurements, and descriptions of the exhibit and any other documentation relating to it you have examined.
- Indicate briefly why the documentation available on the exhibit does not satisfy your research objectives and how those objectives might be met by observation of the original exhibits.
Can I access the autopsy report?
The National Archives has an electronic copy of Appendix IX (Commission Exhibits 387 & 391). If you would like to receive a hard copy of Appendix IX, please write to us and provide us with a postal mailing address.
Are the images in the Collection public domain or under copyright?
Some of the images in the Collection may be copyrighted. Where obvious copyright or donor-imposed restrictions apply, written releases from the copyright owners may be required before reproductions will be made. It is the user’s responsibility to obtain all necessary clearances. Any use of these items is made at the researcher’s or purchaser’s own risk.
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
The National Archives reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Where is the Zapruder film? Can I get a copy of it?
The original Zapruder film is part of the Collection and is in the custody of the Moving Image and Sound Branch at the National Archives at College Park, MD. NARA may make a single fair-use copy of the film and sell it to any researcher. However, the copyright for the film is owned by the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas, TX. If a researcher chooses to publish the film in any way, he or she will need to obtain permission from the copyright holder.
I am interested in acquiring copies of some of the records in the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection. What is the process to do so?
You may view the records at the National Archives at College Park, MD, and make your own copies. If you cannot make the trip please write to us at inquire@nara.gov.
Can I view President Kennedy’s clothing?
The apparel worn by President Kennedy on November 22, 1963 is in the legal and physical custody of the National Archives. The President's apparel was used as evidence during the 1963–1964 Warren Commission investigation into the assassination. When the work of the Warren Commission ended, the apparel was transferred to NARA under a deed of gift.
The apparel is located in a secure area, under climate-controlled conditions, and stored flat in special containers for preservation purposes. NARA created detailed color photos of these materials as part of a larger preservation effort to photograph the significant artifacts in the JFK Assassination Records Collection.
Can I view Mrs. Kennedy’s pink suit?
Mrs. Kennedy's suit resides at the National Archives in a secure area, under climate-controlled conditions, and stored flat in special containers for preservation purposes.
Caroline B. Kennedy donated the suit to the National Archives through a deed of gift, signed in 2003. Access to the clothing and personal effects of Mrs. Kennedy are restricted for 100 years from the date of execution of the deed of gift.