5 FAH-1 H-200
ARCHIVE MESSAGES
5 FAH-1 H-210
aRCHIVE
(CT:CH-74; 06-18-2024)
(Office of Origin: DT/OPS/MSO)
5 FAH-1 H-211 OVERVIEW
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
a. Archive messages document the substantive functions for which an office is responsible. They are the essential, official evidence of an organization’s business and may be analogous to cables, memos, some current emails, external correspondence, and other documents that have long-term record value. All archive messages are retained in the Department of State archive.
b. Examples of archive messages include:
· Messages with organizational authority (e.g., action/information memoranda, policy papers).
· Messages that authorize action (e.g., authorization to allocate funds; authorization to conduct activities).
· Messages with evidential value (e.g., meeting minutes, final drafts, position papers, official informal “OI” messages).
· Messages containing drafts that add to a proper understanding of the formulation and execution of policies, decisions, actions, or responsibilities.
· Messages that convey official Department policy (e.g., Department notices, ALDACs, FAM/FAH updates).
c. Archive messages are sent, received, and searched for via the State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset (SMART). The Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute (FSI) provides SMART user and administrator training. Users can find additional archive message preparation information in SMART online help at http://start.smart.state.sbu.
d. Archive messages must contain current Executive Order information, at least one subject TAGS, and a subject line. Executive Order information automatically is applied to archive messages. See 5 FAH-1 H-230 for guidance on preparing archive messages and 5 FAH-3 TAGS/Term Handbook for information on TAGS and their usage.
e. Archive messages are subject to the Department’s clearance and approval guidance for using SMART (see 5 FAH-1 H-240) and overarching guidance regarding request for action, legislative proposals, requests for economic information/data, and other official Department activity typically conducted electronically (see 2 FAM 1200). For Department guidance on issuing interim directives, see 18 FAM 201.1-5(B).
f. The Department of State is the senior agency abroad. Other agencies using the Department’s communications facilities must adhere to its standards and procedures. They must use internal control procedures that meet Department standards. The Department must pre-approve any request for waiver or noncompliance. Other agencies' messaging policies will be enforced secondary to any existing Department policy.
5 FAH-1 H-212 TYPES OF ARCHIVE MESSAGES
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
(Uniform State/USAID)
There are two categories of archive messages:
a. Cables are addressed to an organization, are officially approved and authorize action, or convey official Department of State policy.
b. Record Emails can be either of the following:
1. Directly addressed record emails: Emails sent to one or more individuals (e.g., SMTP address). They document the essential, official functions for which an office is responsible. Examples include messages authorizing action that would not be captured in a cable and messages with evidential value (e.g., meeting minutes, final drafts, position papers and official-informal messages).
2. For the record (FTR) emails: Emails sent only to the SMART archive in order to preserve a record of Department business (e.g., "Memo For The Record"). These emails are not sent to any recipients.
NOTE: Memoranda to be preserved in the archive can be attached to any archive message type.
5 FAH-1 H-212.1 CABLES
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
a. Cables carry the authority of the Department of State. Their contents have been approved, either directly or through delegation, by an approving officer of the Department. An approving officer is an individual who has the authority (or to whom the authority has been delegated) to approve a message or document that carries the authority of the Department, including reporting, policy formulation, and management. A releaser is an individual who is authorized to send a cable that carries Department authority and has been provisioned as such in SMART. In some cases, the same person can be the drafter, approver, and releaser.
b. Cables have the following characteristics:
(1) Addressed to an organization (either a Plain Language Address (PLA) or collective).
(2) Released only by users with release authority (any user can draft part or all of the message).
(3) Identified by a unique Message Reference Number (MRN) formatted as YY Post NNNN (e.g., 14 Pretoria 1234). Cables originated on OpenNet are assigned sequential, even MRN numbers; those originated on ClassNet are assigned sequential odd MRN numbers. MRNs on OpenNet and ClassNet are assigned independently of each other; they do not retain a sequential order between OpenNet and ClassNet.
(4) Display the Department of State official seal.
(5) Distributed via dissemination rules established by post/bureau administrators.
(6) Contain an approving officer's name and all clearers' names.
(7) Can include directly addressed recipients (email address), including external recipients, as informational addressees.
(8) Can include attachments and embedded graphics.
(9) Searchable in the archive. Search results adhere to role-based access control (RBAC) determined by system-wide rules and user-specific permissions, as provisioned by post/bureau administrators.
c. Cables are disseminated to addressees and placed in the archive where the cable can be searched for and retrieved by users with the requisite permissions.
5 FAH-1 H-212.2 RECORD EMAIL
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
a. Record emails capture the essential, official evidence of an organization’s business that otherwise would not be documented in a cable. Record emails may be analogous to memos, some current emails, external correspondence, and other documents with long-term, possibly permanent, value to the Department and the public as determined by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the Department of State. They include the following types of messages:
(1) Drafts which add to a proper understanding of the formulation and execution of policies, decisions, actions, or responsibilities.
(2) Messages authorizing action (e.g., authorization to allocate funds; authorization to conduct activities) that would not be captured in a cable.
(3) Messages with evidential value (e.g., meeting minutes, final drafts, position papers, and some official-informal "OI" messages).
b. Answering the following questions can help decide whether an email is a record email:
· Does the email contain information that should be shared within or outside of my office?
· Would my successor find this email helpful?
· Is this an email that I would normally print and file for my own records?
· Does the email contain historically important information?
· Do I want to ensure that my position on an issue is preserved?
· Does this email document important actions or decisions related to financial, legal, or other rights of the Government and/or the public?
If the answer to any of the above questions is yes, it is a record email.
5 FAH-1 H-212.2-1 DIRECTLY ADDRESSED RECORD EMAIL
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
a. Directly addressed record emails are sent from an individual to one or more individual addressees and warrant retention in the archive as a record of Department activities. These messages have the following characteristics:
(1) Addressed to individuals (i.e., email addresses, including distribution lists) using the Global Address List (GAL) or free-form entry (for external recipients).
(2) Identified by a unique MDA (Message Directly Addressed) number formatted as YY MDA NNNN (e.g., 14 MDA 1234). Directly addressed record emails originated on OpenNet are assigned sequential, even MDA numbers; those originated on ClassNet are assigned sequential odd MDA numbers. MDA numbers on OpenNet and ClassNet are assigned independently of each other; they do not retain a sequential order between OpenNet and ClassNet.
(3) Must contain at least one subject TAGS and may contain captions to restrict archive access to the message under RBAC.
(4) Not subject to RBAC restrictions for sending and receiving, so individuals may receive messages with captions for which they are not provisioned.
(5) Releasable by any OpenNet or ClassNet user with a SMART account (do not require explicit release authority in SMART).
(6) Not disseminated via dissemination rules but delivered directly to addressees listed in the Action and Info fields and placed in the archive.
(7) Searchable by anyone with appropriate RBAC permissions unless marked Addressee Only (see 5 FAH-1 H-233.3).
b. A Directly addressed record email requires an Action addressee or an Info addressee, a subject, body text, and any other markings identified as “required” by the SMART system.
5 FAH-1 H-212.2-2 FOR THE RECORD EMAIL
(CT:CH-65; 03-02-2023)
a. For The Record (FTR) emails are sent from an individual and include only “SMART Archive” as an addressee. A For The Record email does not invoke immediate action; it allows users to include “For The Record” documents that warrant retention in the archive. FTR emails cannot contain additional addressees; they are sent only to the archive. These messages have the following characteristics:
(1) Addressed only to “SMART Archive.”
(2) Identified by a unique FTR number formatted as YY FTR NNNN (e.g., 14 FTR 1234). For the record emails originated on OpenNet are assigned sequential, even FTR numbers; those originated on ClassNet are assigned sequential odd FTR numbers. FTR numbers on OpenNet and ClassNet are assigned independently of each other; they do not retain a sequential order between OpenNet and ClassNet.
(3) Must contain at least one subject TAGS and may contain captions to restrict archive access via RBAC.
(4) Releasable by any OpenNet or ClassNet user with a SMART account (do not require explicit release authority in SMART).
(5) Not disseminated; sent directly to the SMART Archive.
(6) Searchable by anyone with appropriate RBAC permissions unless marked Addressee Only (see 5 FAH-1 H-234.2).
b. A For the record email requires a subject, body text, and any other markings identified as “required” by the SMART system.
5 FAH 1 H-213 THROUGH 219 UNASSIGNED