Requesting Restricted Products

GAO only restricts products from public view that contain information that federal agencies have classified or marked as containing "controlled unclassified information." Under 31 U.S.C. §716(e), when an agency provides information to GAO, GAO must maintain the same level of confidentiality for that information as the agency does.


Congressional Requesters

Members of Congress or congressional staff should contact our Congressional Relations staff at (202) 512-4400 or congrel@gao.gov.


Press and Public Requesters

Members of the press or the public should file a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA). You can learn more about filing a FOIA request by visiting our FOIA webpage.


Federal Government Requesters

Federal government employees requesting a restricted product for official use should please fill out the form below. Required fields are marked with an *.

Please be advised that GAO cannot accept requests directly from contractor employees. Requests from government contractors must be submitted through their government sponsor.

GAO may also request that a memorandum is provided, signed by a senior agency official, in order to obtain a copy of a restricted product for official use.

Address
Classified products are distributed only to those with the appropriate security clearance and an official need-to-know. Controlled unclassified products are distributed only to recipients who have an official need-to-know. Products identified as such have product numbers that end in C (classified) or SU (controlled unclassified information). For classified products, an agency security officer must send clearance verification via fax to 202-512-6067 or e-mail to Security@gao.gov, attention Information Security, with the subject line, "Clearance Verification for Classified Product Request." Please digitally sign the e-mail if possible.