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Part 11. Communications and Liaison

Chapter 3. Disclosure of Official Information

Section 12. Classification of Documents

11.3.12  Classification of Documents

11.3.12.1  (07-25-2005)
Purpose

  1. This section provides procedures for classification of documents and guidance for determining the releasability of these documents.

  2. These instructions are limited to non-national security official documents intended for internal use.

  3. The classifications which are available for use pursuant to these instructions are:

    1. Limited Official Use and

    2. Official Use Only.

  4. These instructions do not apply to documents classified:

    1. Top Secret,

    2. Secret,

    3. Confidential, or

    4. Any classification which originates outside the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

    Note:

    For instructions relating to materials which are classified for national security or foreign policy purposes, see IRM 1.9.3, Safeguarding National Security Information.

  5. This section also contains instructions and restrictions on the use of personal identifiers in printed materials and the inclusion of return information in instructions.

  6. This section is closely related to instructions contained in IRM 11.3.7, Reading Room Operations, and IRM 11.3.13, Freedom of Information Act. A reading of those sections may be helpful in understanding and providing perspective for the instructions in this section.

  7. See IRM 1.16.1, Physical Security, for instructions establishing the minimum standards required to administratively control, transmit, store, and ultimately destroy material determined to require administrative control (classification) per instructions contained in this section.

11.3.12.2  (07-25-2005)
Background Documents

  1. The Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC 552, requires that agencies shall make available to the public information contained in agency records, except for matters which are identified as exempt from the Act. No document may be classified unless it is considered to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act at the time it is created.

  2. The Privacy Act of 1974, USC 552a(e)(10), provides that agencies will:

    • "...establish appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure the security and confidentiality of records and to protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to their security or integrity which could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to any individual on whom information is maintained."

  3. 44 USC 1902 provides that:

    • "Government publications, except those determined by their issuing components to be required for official use only or for strictly administration or operational purposes which have no public interest or educational value and publications classified for reasons of national security shall be made available to depository libraries through the facilities of the Superintendent of Documents for public information."

  4. Authority to classify information which is not entitled to protection in the interest of national security under appropriate Executive Order, but which requires protection, is provided by Treasury Directive 71–10, Department of the Treasury Security Manual.

  5. Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised) designates the officials authorized to classify and declassify documents.

11.3.12.3  (07-25-2005)
The Intent of Classification

  1. The primary intention of classifying a document "Official Use Only" is to prevent the automatic distribution to the public of printed materials which should not be subject to such distribution.

  2. The classification system promotes uniformity by precluding the possibility that a document could be withheld from the public by one office while being released by another.

  3. The identification of a small proportion of IRS printed materials as "Official Use Only" facilitates the ready release to the public of the majority of printed materials which are not classified.

  4. The legends "Limited Official Use " and "Official Use Only" should act to alert employees that the release of the document is prohibited, except by an authorized official acting in accordance with the provisions of this section or other authorization.

  5. The legends "Limited Official Use " and "Official Use Only" are internal instructions which have no effect with regard to any member of the public who may have received such documents.

  6. This section also includes restrictions to prevent the abuse of over classification and provisions for the declassification of records containing information which no longer requires protection.

11.3.12.3.1  (07-25-2005)
Limited Official Use

  1. Materials which warrant classification as "Official Use Only," but which contain information of such important, delicate or sensitive nature that they should be treated confidentially, and restricted to those officials and their immediate subordinates who need to know such information, shall have "Limited Official Use" imprinted on the top and bottom on each page.

  2. The classification "Limited Official Use" shall be used only on materials intended for use by the highest officials within the IRS or addressed to officials of the Department of the Treasury.

  3. Materials so marked shall be handled and transmitted as prescribed in IRM 1.16.1.

  4. Documents may be classified "Limited Official Use" only by the Commissioner.

11.3.12.3.2  (07-25-2005)
Official Use Only

  1. The limited distribution of IRS documents, such as reports of investigation, memorandums and correspondence, and the normal safeguarding of IRS files as required by law to prevent unauthorized disclosures, make administrative classification unnecessary.

  2. The "Official Use Only" classification may be used on only four types of documents.

    1. Printed materials intended for internal use, as discussed in See IRM 11.3.12.4.1below.

    2. Memoranda from Headquarters officials to a group of field officials containing instructions required to be republished in the Law Enforcement Manual (LEM), as discussed in See IRM 11.3.12.4.2.below.

    3. Documents formerly classified "Limited Official Use," as discussed in See IRM 11.3.12.5.1.below.

    4. Tolerance and criteria portions of implementing agreements, Memorandums of Understanding, or their equivalent for exchange of tax returns and return information with State tax agencies.

  3. The absence of an "Official Use Only" designation from any document other than the four types of documents described above does not indicate that the document may be released to the public, but merely means that its releasability depends upon other factors.

  4. The "Official Use Only" classification and variants thereof shall be effective only when applied in accordance with this section, by officials authorized by Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised), and with the concurrence of the Office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure when such concurrence is required by this section.

  5. A former classification, "For Official IRS Use Only" is no longer used. Any documents which retain the designation "For Official IRS Use Only" should be considered as classified "Official Use Only."

  6. The use of pseudo-classifications such as "internal use only," "confidential," or "eyes only " has no official standing.

    1. Documents so marked are to be treated as if they were not classified.

    2. Use of the "Official Use Only" classification, if not approved by a Delegation Order 89 official, is the same as non-classification.

11.3.12.4  (07-25-2005)
Guidelines for Classification

  1. These guidelines are intended to assist officials making recommendations for the administrative classification of documents covered by this section.

  2. Aside from the obvious requirement that all actions must be strictly in accordance with all applicable provisions of law, it is stressed that these are guidelines and not rules which must be followed in every instance. Their applicability must be considered in the light of the specific circumstances involved in any situation.

  3. The overall objective is that the greatest amount of information be made available to the public whenever possible. Guidelines should not be applied in a manner which would produce a result contrary to this objective.

  4. The Freedom of Information Act requires:

    1. Information contained in Government records be made available to the public; and

    2. No information can be withheld from the public unless it is subject to one of the exemptions provided by the Act.

  5. On April 23, 2004, the Commissioner issued a revised discretionary disclosure policy that incorporates the principles announced in the Attorney General’s government-wide Freedom of Information Act policy directive issued October 2001. Policy Statement 11-13 Freedom of Information Act Requests (4-23-04). Both policy statements emphasize a commitment to full compliance with the FOIA while recognizing the importance of protecting sensitive institutional, commercial, and personal interests that can be implicated in government records, such as the need to safeguard national security, enhance law enforcement effectiveness, respect business confidentiality, protect internal agency deliberations, and preserve personal privacy. In accordance with that policy, any discretionary decision to release information protected under the FOIA should be made only upon full and deliberate consideration of all interests involved. IRS should reach the judgement that their use of a discretionary FOIA exemption is on sound footing, both factually and legally, and that any discretionary decision to release information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information.

  6. The IRS should make available to the public information which is not prohibited from disclosure by law and regulations, or where release is inconsistent with Policy Statement 11-13.

  7. Consideration must be given to whether release of records would be consistent with Policy Statement 11-13 and CC-2005-005, Discretionary Disclosure Policy. IRS should reach the judgement that their use of a discretionary FOIA exemption is on sound footing, both factually and legally, and that any discretionary decision to release information protected under the FOIA should be made only after full and deliberate consideration of the institutional, commercial, and personal privacy interests that could be implicated by disclosure of the information.

  8. Officials evaluating material for classification or declassification should be alert to opportunities for waiving FOIA exemptions not institutionally adopted under Policy Statement 11-13, avoiding the classification of documents, and thereby permitting the IRS to operate in a manner which is as open to public scrutiny as is possible.

  9. Materials should not be withheld from the public simply because they may be subject to misinterpretation, because there is no apparent public benefit to their release, to avoid embarrassment, or to hide instances of errors or wrong doing by IRS officials or employees.

  10. The fact that information may be generally known, although not published, does not necessarily mean that public release of the information would not interfere with tax administration. A limited disclosure previously made by the IRS will not cause the IRS to forego the defense of such materials, but a substantial distribution may no longer have its protection defended.

11.3.12.4.1  (07-25-2005)
Printed Materials

  1. Any IRS materials which have been printed and distributed may be assumed to be intended for public release if they have not been classified "Official Use Only."

  2. For the purposes of this section, printed materials include materials which have been reproduced by any method other than office copying machines.

  3. The classification of printed documents is part of the preparation process and the "Official Use Only" designation should be included in the printed version of the document rather than subsequently applied. Omission of the "Official Use Only" designation may trigger the automatic public distribution of documents.

  4. The originating office is responsible for designating the classification of material submitted for reproduction. This information should be specified in item 24 on Form 1767, Publication Services Requisition, by the originator for materials other than Internal Management Documents.

  5. For Internal Management Documents, the originator will complete item 5 on Form 2061, Document Clearance Record.

  6. The document being issued, Form 1767, or Form 2061, or a statement in lieu of one of the foregoing must be signed by an official authorized by Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised).

    1. All classified materials must be reviewed by the Office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

    2. Such materials should be clearly noted as to whether the GLD review is for classification only or whether review is also for "disclosure issues."

  7. The originator places the "Official Use Only" designation on the cover page only unless camera copy, in which case it must be on each page. When the forms specified above are properly completed, Publishing Services will then imprint "Official Use Only" on subsequent pages unless camera copy.

  8. Data Processing materials and Training materials are subject to special consideration.

    Note:

    See subsections 11.3.12.4.4 and .5 below.

  9. Originators of materials being produced outside of Headquarters are responsible for ascertaining the adequacy of local procedures to accomplish results similar to the above.

11.3.12.4.2  (07-25-2005)
Headquarters Memoranda and Faxes

  1. The Freedom of Information Act provides that "administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff" be available for public inspection. See 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2). That requirement, which is the basis for making the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) available to the public, also extends to instructions to staff when issued on an emergency basis as memoranda or faxes prior to inclusion in the IRM. See IRM 1.11.2 and IRM 11.3.13 for information on posting interim guidance to the Electronic Reading Room at irs.gov.

  2. In order to be subject to this section, a document must:

    1. Be in memorandum or fax format;

    2. Be originated by a Headquarters official;

    3. Be addressed to a group of field officials or Headquarters officials;

    4. Contain instructions of a general or continuing nature which are to be followed by the recipients; and

    5. Be required to be incorporated in a future issuance of either the IRM (including ADP Handbooks) or the LEM.

    Note:

    Documents which relate to the handling of specific cases or instances, and which serve no continuing instructional purpose are not subject to this section.

  3. Absence of the "Official Use Only " designation does not imply that they are to be released to the public.

  4. Memoranda which are subject to (2) above and which include information to be incorporated in the LEM are to be classified by completing Item 5 on Form 2061.

    1. The Form 2061 or other documentation in lieu thereof must be approved by an official authorized to classify by Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised).

  5. Concurrence from the appropriate office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, must be obtained before issuance of the memorandum.

  6. If all of the material in a memorandum can be protected, the designation "Official Use Only" must be shown on each page of the memorandum. The memorandum may have attachments which are classified, partially classified or unclassified on their own merits.

  7. An unclassified memorandum may have attachments which are classified or partially classified.

    1. Each page of such memorandum will be marked "Note: all or some of the attachments are classified Official Use Only"

    2. Such memorandums should be prepared with a courtesy copy to Governmental Liaison and Disclosure, for determination on partial inclusion in the Reading Room file.

  8. If the memorandum includes both protected information and meaningful information which is not appropriate for protection, the content must be evaluated on a line by line basis.

    1. Each line to be protected will have the symbol # shown to the right of the line.

    2. All pages must carry the designation "Any line marked with a # is for Official Use Only."

    Note:

    This designation will be shown on each page, even though the specific page may not contain any protected material.

  9. Pages protected in their entirety by the "Official Use Only" designation and pages partially protected by the symbol # should not be intermingled within one memorandum or within one attachment.

    1. If some pages in a memorandum are partially classified using the symbol # and other pages require protection for their complete content, the latter pages should carry the designation "any line marked with a # is for Official Use Only" and the symbol # should be shown to the right of every line on those pages.

  10. Disclosure Officers processing FOIA requests for Headquarters memoranda subject to this section which are found in field office files may release (after considering appropriate FOIA exemptions) the requested items in accordance with the following guidelines.

    1. Memoranda which are not classified may be released if the issue date is later than December 6, 1979.

    2. The unclassified portion of memoranda protected by the # symbol may be released regardless of issue date.

  11. Disclosure Officers should not deny FOIA requests for materials subject to this section solely on the basis of their classification, since the nature of emergency instructions would tend to produce classification having only temporary validity.

    1. Prior to denying requests, Disclosure Officers should telephone Governmental Liaison and Disclosure Headquarters to determine if the materials have been declassified or may now be declassified.

    2. Cases which cannot be promptly resolved by telephone should be transferred to Governmental Liaison and Disclosure Headquarters for resolution.

11.3.12.4.3  (07-25-2005)
Law Enforcement Manuals

  1. Law Enforcement Manuals are a part of the IRS ’s internal management document system which complements the IRM.

  2. The IRM includes materials which are subject to the Freedom of Information Act definition of "administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff" and is available to the public.

  3. The LEM includes those materials which are not subject to that definition and are not available to the public.

    1. All Law Enforcement Manuals are classified as "Official Use Only."

  4. The Law Enforcement Manuals exist to protect information of an instructional or procedural nature, whose release would hinder the law enforcement process with respect to one or more categories of persons.

    1. Such provisions include those which communicate information or instructions to IRS personnel relating to enforcement tactics, methods or procedures, or to enforcement tolerances or criteria.

  5. Material describing a law enforcement technique may be protected in its entirety if it is believed that disclosure of the entire discussion of the technique would hinder law enforcement, even though disclosure of some part of the discussion of the technique might not have that effect.

  6. The protection of tolerances and criteria are normally determined on a sentence by sentence basis.

  7. Additional guidelines for data processing portions of the Law Enforcement Manuals are contained in IRM 11.3.12.4.4.

  8. Except for data processing portions, LEM issuances are prepared with a minimum of introductory material so issuances may be withheld in their entirety.

  9. If portions of a LEM are subsequently determined to be available to the public, a new issuance must be prepared removing the declassified portion from the LEM and inserting it in the IRM, if it is to be retained as instructional material.

  10. The authority to classify Law Enforcement Manuals is specified in Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised).

  11. The issuance of Law Enforcement Manuals requires the concurrence of the Director, Office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

11.3.12.4.4  (07-25-2005)
Data Processing Manuals

  1. Data processing instructions frequently must be followed by employees in a step-by-step fashion which makes it impossible in some instances to segregate classified and public portions of an instruction into separate publications. Accordingly, certain data processing instructions will be prepared in two versions, as follows.

    1. Those ADP Chapters, ADP Handbooks and Supplements subject to the two version production technique will be selected by the originating division.

    2. Each page in the selected issuance will be marked with the designation "Any line marked with a # is for Official Use Only," regardless of whether the particular page contains any protected material or not.

    3. Any material to be protected will be identified by the symbol # placed to the right of the line on which it appears.

    4. For internal use, the issuance will be printed on white paper and will include all lines.

    5. For public use, the issuance will be printed on yellow paper showing only those lines which are not protected.

      Note:

      It is the responsibility of the originator to inform Publishing Services on Form 1767 to prepare the copy from which the yellow version is produced by editing out all lines marked #.

    6. The yellow copies are distributed by Publishing Services to the Headquarters Freedom of Information Reading Room for public inspection.

  2. The classification of data processing materials for inclusion in the LEM, whether "Official Use Only" or "Any line marked with a # is for Official Use Only" requires the concurrence of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

    Note:

    Due to the highly technical nature of their content, data processing materials which are not part of the LEM, such as Computer Program Books and Systems Acceptability Testing drafts may be classified by officials authorized by Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised) without the concurrence of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

  3. The classification of data processing materials serves four objectives.

    1. To protect information from Law Enforcement Manuals of other divisions which may be reflected in data processing instructions.

    2. To preclude taxpayers from altering their filing practices or avoiding the payment of taxes by protecting tolerances and criteria, details of computer analysis, and specific identity of all items which may or may not be transcribed.

    3. To prevent invasions of individual privacy by protecting computer access codes, reduce the harm of inadvertent disclosures of records containing tax return information, or other highly confidential personal information by protecting the definitions of data processing codes.

    4. To prevent interference in the computer processing for purposes of fraud or disruption by protecting data processing codes, routines and safety and security provisions.

  4. In applying the foregoing objectives, the intent should be to deny public access to definitional materials and extensive listings of data processing codes, such as might prove useful to a person attempting to abuse such information.

    1. Classification should not be given to listings for information that do not clearly undermine the integrity of the computer system itself (e.g., most of Document 6209, ADP/IDRS Handbook is available to the public and is available through the IRS Digital Daily FOIA site).

  5. It is not intended that every mention of an otherwise innocuous code be deleted from every public document in which it might appear, since such occasional disclosure of limited information would not permit a reconstruction of the extensive nature necessary to threaten our computer processes. Moreover, individual requesters are generally entitled to receive records which pertain to them and to receive an adequate explanation of their content. It is current Service policy to provide the public instructions for reading transcripts when such transcripts are not self-evident.

11.3.12.4.5  (07-25-2005)
Training Material

  1. Training materials may require classification for three reasons.

    1. They may repeat LEM or classified data processing information, and thus must be classified in order to protect the original materials.

    2. They may include original information not appearing elsewhere, which requires protection for the same reasons as law enforcement or data processing materials.

    3. They may require classification in order to protect the integrity of the training process.

      Note:

      Instructor Guides and related materials may be classified in order to prevent students from obtaining advance knowledge of test questions and answers, discussion problems, and other training techniques whose effectiveness would be diminished by becoming known prior to employment by the instructor.

  2. Training materials proposed for classification normally require the concurrence of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

    1. However, the proposed or current classification of ADP training materials developed in the campuses should be reviewed by the Campus Disclosure Officer and approved by the appropriate Campus Director.

  3. In order to provide the greatest flexibility, the following types of classification may be used on training materials.

    1. If all or most of the material is from classified sources, the entire training publication will be classified " Official Use Only."

      1. This designation will be shown on the cover of the document and printed at the bottom of each page.

    2. If certain chapters or units must be protected, classify these portions "Official Use Only," marking all pages in those chapters or units.

      1. The cover of the document should contain a statement to the effect that "Note: Chapter(s) --- are classified for ''Official Use Only''."

    3. If certain pages within a chapter must be protected, classify those pages "Official Use Only," marking only those pages containing material that must be protected.

      1. The cover of the document should contain a statement to the effect that "Page(s) --- are classified for ''Official Use Only''."

    4. If certain lines within a page must be protected, those lines will be marked with the symbol #.

      1. The bottom of the page will be marked, "Any line marked # is for ''Official Use Only''."

      2. The cover of the document should contain a statement, " Lines marked # on Pages --- are for ''Official Use Only''."

11.3.12.4.6  (07-25-2005)
Special Adaptations

  1. Special circumstances may require special adaptations of the "Official Use Only" designations as have been indicated for training materials in IRM 11.3.12.4.5(3).

  2. Other special adaptations could include such devices as having all "Official Use Only" material printed below a line, printed in a different color or different style type, or printed in a shaded area.

  3. Documents using such special adaptations must be classified "Official Use Only" on their face and contain a clear explanation to permit an uninformed user of the document to readily differentiate between the protected and public portions of the text.

  4. Special adaptations of the "Official Use Only" classification require the concurrence of the Director, Office of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

11.3.12.5  (07-25-2005)
Guidelines for Declassification

  1. When reviewing a document which has not been released to the public to determine if it can now be declassified, consideration should be given to whether the original classification was proper. The material may have been classified in error and should now be declassified.

  2. The availability of information to the public pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act has been an evolutionary process in which the trend has been toward increasing the types and amounts of materials which should be released. A document which was correctly classified may warrant declassification because it can no longer be protected as a result of changing FOIA standards.

  3. The need to protect the information may no longer exist.

    1. Completed actions are less likely to require protection than proposed actions; generally the older an issuance is and the less it relates to current operation, the less likely it is to require protection.

    2. An issuance which has long been out of date may nevertheless continue to contain information which relates to current operations and warrants protection.

11.3.12.5.1  (07-25-2005)
Limited Official Use

  1. The Commissioner may alter, reduce or declassify "Limited Official Use" documents as follows.

    1. Additional officials may be designated to receive the materials, while retaining the "Limited Official Use" classification.

    2. The "Limited Official Use" classification may be reduced to "Official Use Only," discontinuing the need for special handling and permitting wider distribution within the IRS of materials which should continue to be withheld from the public.

    3. Segregative portions of the document may be released to the public pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act request, while retaining the "Limited Official Use" designation for the document as a whole.

    4. The document may be completely declassified by being released to the public or by the issuance of a memorandum pursuant to (3) below.

      Note:

      See also Treasury Directive TD 71–10.

  2. The Commissioner may require appropriate IRS officials to evaluate and recommend the reduced classification or declassification of documents in specific instances or as part of a periodic program to declassify "Limited Official Use" documents.

  3. In order to discontinue special handling, officials who have received "Limited Official Use" documents will be advised by memorandum when such documents are reduced to " Official Use Only" or completely declassified and will manually correct the classification if the documents are retained.

11.3.12.5.2  (07-25-2005)
Official Use Only

  1. Authority to declassify "Official Use Only" documents is specified in Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised).

  2. A request for a document pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act is the equivalent of a request to declassify the document.

  3. The release of a document to a member of the public will generally constitute the declassification of that document, unless special circumstances exist.

  4. IRS employees may rely upon a formal release to the public of a classified document pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act as authority for any subsequent releases of the identical document.

  5. The declassification of a document does not require that it be reprinted solely to produce a version free of the " Official Use Only" designation if normal IRS needs do not otherwise require re-issuance of the document. However, any future editions of the document which may be produced should no longer carry the "Official Use Only" designation.

    Note:

    See IRM 11.3.12.4.3(9), for special instructions pertaining to Law Enforcement Manuals.

  6. Generally, instructions will not be issued to recipients of classified documents to delete the "Official Use Only" designation when it is no longer applicable, since such documents would be so widely distributed throughout the IRS as to preclude effective compliance with such instructions.

  7. Most printed materials subject to the " Official Use Only" classification are subject to a continuous review process to ensure they are kept current, and are periodically updated or reprinted as necessary.

    1. Such review process, updating and re-issuance or reprinting should include consideration of the continuing need for classification.

    2. Documents are not to be classified "Official Use Only" merely because a prior edition was classified, but must be evaluated on their own merits in accordance with current standards.

11.3.12.6  (07-25-2005)
Special Releases

  1. The expeditious transaction of official Government business requires the occasional release outside the Department of the Treasury of documents classified "Official Use Only" under circumstances which would not constitute a general release to members of the public.

  2. This section intends to differentiate between such special releases and a general release to a member of the public which would constitute a declassification of the document, and thereby provide for the continued protection of classified information.

  3. Classified documents may be released pursuant to this section only to the extent that such documents do not include information whose disclosure is prohibited by statute, including IRC 6103 and 5 USC 552a or the release is allowable pursuant to the appropriate statute.

  4. Documents classified "Limited Official Use" may be furnished, or their contents disclosed, to persons outside the Department of the Treasury only by the Commissioner.

  5. "Official Use Only" information may be released to IRS contractors but such contracts need to conform to the requirements of IRM 11.3.24.4.5, Contracts Involving Disclosure of "Official Use Only" Documents.

    1. To the extent that 5 USC 552a or IRC 6103 protected information is involved, see IRM 11.3.24.3.2, Review Instructions.

  6. Release of "Official Use Only" information to the Government Accountability Office is covered in IRM 11.3.23, Disclosure to the General Accounting Office (GAO).

11.3.12.6.1  (07-25-2005)
Authority for Special Releases

  1. Documents classified "Official Use Only" may be furnished or their contents disclosed to persons outside the Department of the Treasury (e.g., to Federal agencies as part of IRS' FedFed activity and to state agencies as part of tax administration partnering) only with the permission of officials authorized to classify or declassify such documents by Delegation Order No. 89 (as revised) or an appropriate functional official (could be part of a Memorandum of Understanding or other such cooperative agreement covering agency partnering efforts.

  2. A classified document may not be released outside the Treasury Department, such as to the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorneys, in connection with a tax case or similar circumstances without the knowledge and concurrence of the official(s) of the function that created the document.

    1. Subsequently, a government attorney may release, as appropriate, such OUO information in discovery or litigation.

      Note:

      Chief Counsel attorneys should secure the concurrence of the official(s) of the function that created the OUO document before releasing

  3. National Research Program data (formerly called Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program (TCMP) data) may contain information of a highly confidential nature, the improper disclosure of which would be seriously detrimental to fulfillment of the IRS's mission

    1. In order that National Research Program/TCMP data not be improperly divulged, all disclosures of National Research Program/TCMP data, regardless of the source of the request or the type of the data requested, require the approval of the Head of the Operating/Functional Division having subject matter responsibility and of the Director, Research, Analysis, and Statistics of Income.

  4. Any special release under this subsection must be conditioned on the recipient's agreement and ability to use, disseminate (usually will only be to agency employees with a need to know for official duties), and protect the classified information in accordance with IRS requirements.

11.3.12.6.2  (07-25-2005)
Congressional Requests

  1. Requests from Representatives and Senators or members of their staffs, acting in their own capacity will be processed in a manner consistent with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, and will be given every consideration which would be appropriate to any member of the public.

  2. Requests which are made on behalf of committees and subcommittees of the Congress for an official purpose are made pursuant to the oversight and investigatory powers of the Congress.

    1. Classified documents may be made available to committees or subcommittees pursuant to such requests.

    2. The recipients should be advised of the restricted availability of classified documents in order to preclude any inadvertent release such as might result from inclusion in a public report.

  3. In order to preclude imposing unnecessary administrative burdens upon a congressional committee and to avoid the embarrassment of requesting protection for out-of-date materials, consideration should be given to the need for continued classification of "Official Use Only" documents being made available.

11.3.12.6.3  (07-25-2005)
Foreign Government Requests

  1. The Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) OD is the main point of contact and coordination for requests from representatives of foreign governments for IRS records and publications.

  2. These instructions do not apply to returns and return information, disclosure of which is also under the authority of LMSB as competent authority and discussed in IRM 11.3.25 , Disclosure to Foreign Countries Pursuant to Tax Treaty.

  3. IRS employees performing training or briefings, or guiding visitations for foreign officials may (with the prior concurrence of LMSB) make available classified documents as necessary to accomplish the purposes of such sessions, providing such documents remain on IRS premises or within IRS control and are not copied or removed.

  4. Releases of classified documents to foreign governments other than permitted by (2) above, require authorization from LMSB and must, in addition, have the concurrence of Governmental Liaison and Disclosure.

  5. Requests from foreign governments should be carefully evaluated by LMSB personnel.

    1. Release should be consistent with the provisions and intent of any tax treaty with the requesting government.

  6. Inasmuch as classified documents are not available to members of the public, any proposed release of such documents would provide to a foreign government information which it is necessary to withhold from U.S. citizens. Such a proposal requires careful consideration to ensure that the result is clearly warranted and defensible.

11.3.12.6.4  (07-25-2005)
Academic and Professional Organizations Requests

  1. The IRS seeks to cooperate with responsible representatives of universities, bar associations, accountants' institutes, and similar organizations devoted to a knowledge of and the improvement of tax administration.

    1. Such organizations do not, however, have any legal status which would permit a greater access to IRS documents than would be granted to any member of the public acting independently.

    2. Consequently, the release of classified documents to academic and professional organizations would constitute the declassification of those documents, except as provided in (2) or (3) below.