By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, in order to balance the public's interest in access to Government information with the need to protect certain national security information from disclosure, it is hereby ordered as follows:
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1 - 1. Classification Designation.
1 - 101. Except as provided in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, this Order provides the only basis for classifying information. Information may be classified in one of the three designations listed below. If there is reasonable doubt which designation is appropriate, or whether the information should be classified at all, the less restrictive designation should be used, or the information should not be classified.
1 - 102. " Top Secret" shall be applied only to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security.
1 - 103. " Secret" shall be applied only to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security.
1 - 104. " Confidential" shall be applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause identifiable damage to the national security.
1 - 2. Classification Authority.
1 - 201. Top Secret. Authority for original classification of information as Top Secret may be exercised only by the President, by such officials as the President may designate by publication in the Federal Register, by the agency heads listed below, and by officials to whom such authority is delegated in accordance with Section 1 - 204:
The Secretary of State
The Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of the Army
The Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Air Force
The Attorney General
The Secretary of Energy
The Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Director, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
The Director of Central Intelligence
The Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Administrator of General Services (delegable only to the Director, Federal Preparedness Agency and to the Director, Information Security Oversight Office)
1 - 202. Secret. Authority for original classification of information as Secret may be exercised only by such officials as the President may designate by publication in the Federal Register, by the agency heads listed below, by officials who have Top Secret classification authority, and by officials to whom such authority is delegated in accordance with Section 1 - 204:
The Secretary of Commerce
The Secretary of Transportation
The Administrator, Agency for International Development
The Director, International Communication Agency
1 - 203. Confidential. Authority for original classification of information as Confidential may be exercised only by such officials as the President may designate by publication in the Federal Register, by the agency heads listed below, by officials who have Top Secret or Secret classification authority, and by officials to whom such authority is delegated in accordance with Section 1 - 204:
The President and Chairman, Export-Import Bank of the United States
The President and Chief Executive Officer, Overseas Private Investment Corporation