5 FAH-1 H-200
ARCHIVE MESSAGES
5 FAH-1 H-210
aRCHIVE
(CT:CH-52; 10-29-2018)
(Office of Origin: IRM/OPS/MSO)
5 FAH-1 H-211 OVERVIEW
(CT:CH-52; 10-29-2018)
a. Archive Messages document the substantive functions
for which an office is responsible. They are the essential, official evidence
of an organizations 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 adds 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. The Department of States Foreign Service Institute
(FSI) provides SMART user and administrator training. Users can find
additional archive message preparation information on SMARTs user portal and
SMART online help.
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 IRM/OPS/MSO guidance on preparing archive messages or 5 FAH-3 TAGS/Term
Handbook for information on TAGS and their usage).
e. Archive messages are subject to the Departments
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 Departments 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-36; 07-22-2014)
(Uniform State/USAID)
There are two categories of archive messages:
a. Cables 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 are
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 Emails (FTR) are
sent only to the 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-36; 07-22-2014)
a. Cables carry the authority of the Department of
State. The 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) Are 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 the entire 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; MRNs do not retain a sequential order
between ClassNet and OpenNet.
(4) Display the Department of State official seal.
(5) Distributed via dissemination rules established by
post/bureau administrators.
(6) Contain all clearers and an approver's (approving
officers) name.
(7) Can include directly-addressed recipients (email
address), including external recipients, as informational addressees.
(8) Can include attachments and embedded graphics.
(9) Are 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-36; 07-22-2014)
a. Record emails capture the essential, official
evidence of an organizations 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) Authorizing action (e.g., authorization to
allocate funds; authorization to conduct activities) that would not be captured
in a cable; and
(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?
c. 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-36; 07-22-2014)
a. Directly Addressed record emails are sent from an
individual to one or more others 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,
SMTP address, distribution list) 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 ClassNet and OpenNet;
(3) Must contain TAGS and may contain captions to
restrict archive access to the message under RBAC;
(4) Not disseminated via dissemination rules, but
delivered directly to addressees listed in the Action and Info fields, and
placed in the archive;
(5) Releasable by any OpenNet or ClassNet user (do not
require explicit release authority in SMART); and
(6) 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-36; 07-22-2014)
a. For the Record 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. For The Record 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 ClassNet and OpenNet;
(3) Must contain TAGS and may contain captions to
restrict archive access via RBAC; and
(4) Not disseminated; solely placed in the Archive;
(a) Releasable by any OpenNet or ClassNet user (do not
require explicit release authority in SMART); and
(b) Searchable by anyone with appropriate RBAC
permissions unless marked Addressee Only (see 5 FAH-1
H-233.3).
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