This directive establishes the principle of compartmentalization under which Bureau information is held, and sets the rules by which personnel may access information held by a Division other than their own or documentation pertaining to a case.

Bureau information is held by the Division responsible for it. Access to it is a function of assignment, not of rank or length of service. Clearance level establishes the highest tier of information a member of personnel may be shown; it does not by itself entitle them to see it.

Every item of Bureau information belongs to exactly one compartment. A compartment is defined by its holding Division and, where the information concerns a case, by the case.

1. Divisional compartments hold a Division's operational specifications, procedural manuals, personnel records and internal correspondence.
2. Case compartments hold a case file, its attachments, and the documents bound to that case.
3. Program and Operation compartments hold the working records of a Program or Operation, and are nested within the compartment of the case to which the Program or Operation is bound, where one exists.

Personnel are granted access to a compartment by assignment, recorded by the holding Division. Access to a compartment does not extend to any other compartment, including compartments nested within it, unless the assignment states so.

Access to a case file requires both of the following:

1. Security Clearance at or above the level stated in the case header, as defined in SYS-300-01 (Security Clearance Levels);
2. assignment to the case compartment, or a standing assignment of the holding Division that includes it.

Where a case file carries a Warning restricting access further, the Warning's conditions apply in addition to this section. Case files may state that access is prohibited "in accordance with Directive DX-300-04"; the phrase refers to this section.

A case file that exists in more than one form, such as an internal form and a general-clearance form, may carry different access conditions for each form. The conditions stated in each form apply to that form only.

Information leaves its holding Division only through formal exchange under Protocol PR-000-03 (Interdivisional Information Exchange). Personnel are not to share, describe or summarize the contents of a compartment to personnel outside it, whether in writing, in conversation or by reference in other documentation.

Joint operations do not create shared compartments. Each Division participating in a joint operation retains its own compartment, and exchange between them proceeds under PR-000-03 as for any other exchange.

Unauthorized cross-divisional information exchange constitutes a Level II security violation under SYS-300-02 (Security Violation Levels), subject to administrative review and potential memory modification procedures.

Unauthorized access to a case file is a violation at the level stated in the case file. Where the case file states no level, it is a Level II violation.

Disclosure of compartmented information to personnel outside the Bureau is not governed by this directive and is addressed under SYS-300-02 directly.

This directive is issued under the authority of the Director of the Bureau. Division Directors are responsible for maintaining the compartment records of their Divisions and for recording assignments.

The directive is reviewed whenever a Division is established, merged or dissolved, and in any case at intervals of no more than five years.

End of directive.