Federal · Title 44 — Public Printing and Documents

44 U.S.C. § 2205: Exceptions to restricted access

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute establishes exceptions permitting the Archivist, archival staff, courts, incumbent Presidents, Congress, and former Presidents to access Presidential records under specified circumstances.

Read the full statutory text

the Archivist and persons employed by the National Archives and Records Administration who are engaged in the performance of normal archival work shall be permitted access to Presidential records in the custody of the Archivist; pursuant to subpoena or other judicial process issued by a court of competent jurisdiction for the purposes of any civil or criminal investigation or proceeding; to an incumbent President if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of current business of the incumbent President’s office and that is not otherwise available; and to either House of Congress, or, to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, to any committee or subcommittee thereof if such records contain information that is needed for the conduct of its business and that is not otherwise available; and the Presidential records of a former President shall be available to such former President or the former President’s designated representative.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.