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JFK Database Explorer

Welcome to the JFK Database Explorer! These pages allow you to explore the JFK Collection records which are identified by a Record Identification Form. Each of over 300,000 documents is uniquely identified by a 13-digit RIF number of the form XXX-XXXXX-XXXXX, and other form fields denote each document's title, page count, subjects, agency, and other such metadata.

NOTE: A 3/4/2022 update marks those records released on December 15, 2021, and also adds a "Withheld" status denoting which records are withheld under sections 10 and 11 of the JFK Records Act (due to IRS, court, or donor restrictions). This project's data was updated on July 24, 2021 with new metadata derived from a 6-part spreadsheet created by the National Archives.


Start your exploration of the JFK records:

Look up by Record Number:  Find

or:

View all 300,000+ records

or:

View records in transparency plans - View metadata for the records in any of the 5 "transparency plans" of still partially-withheld records (some are actually already released in full). Note that hundreds of records, particularly NSA, Army/IRR, and JFK Library, are in the plans but have no metadata and thus are not included here.

or:

Explore the documents released since 2017 - View metadata and the actual documents which the National Archives released since 2017.

or:

Explore the withheld-in-full records which were planned for release in 2017 - See the 3,517 records which in 2016 the National Archives said were withheld in full but planned for release in 2017 (not all were actually released).

Use the links below to browse by any of the form fields. This Explorer lets you drill down:

• For each form field, view the list of unique values and the # of matching documents
• For each such value, the RIF form metadata for each matching document
• For matching documents scanned into this website (over 1/3 of the total), click through to read the doc

Click the links below to explore JFK database by:

  • Record Number - 13-digit unique record number assigned by NARA (XXX-XXXXX-XXXXX)
  • Record Series - Groupings of documents into series
  • Agency - Name of agency releasing the document
  • Agency File No. - Original file number or name assigned to the document
  • Originator - Organization or person who created the document
  • From - Person or organization from whom the document was sent
  • To - Person or organization to whom the document was sent
  • Date - Date when the document was created
  • Pages - Number of pages in the document
  • Subjects - List of subjects discussed in the document, separated by semi-colons
  • Document Type - Type of document (Letter, Report, etc.)
  • Classification - Document's security classification
  • Restrictions - Restriction codes identifying types of redactions applied to this document
  • Current Status - Current release status (Open, Released with Deletions, Postponed in Full)
  • Date of Last Review - Date when last reviewed for release or change in redaction
  • Opening Criteria - Criteria to be applied to decision-making about release
  • Comments - Comments attached to this document

ABOUT THE JFK DATABASE EXPLORER

The pages you can explore here use a copy of the full RIF database gleaned from the National Archives website. The current version, created in July 2021, is derived from a 6-part spreadsheet provided by the National Archives. The data in the earlier version was provided in 2015 by Ramon Herrera.

Note that there are many typos--these are present in the original National Archives data and no attempt has been made to correct them.

2021 UPDATE

A new interactive table lets you explore the metadata for 1,151 records which were marked as "withheld in full" by the National Archives in 2016 and slated for release in 2017, but then were not subsequently put online. Learn the reasons why in a companion essay: State of the JFK Releases 2021.

Some Stats

Total count of documents: 319,106
Viewable on MFF: 109,947 (~35%)

For More Information

For more information about this Explorer, the database upon which it is based, and tips and tricks for using it effectively, see this help page:
Frequently Asked Questions about the JFK Database Explorer

 

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