CUI category: Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information, marked NNPI, is the Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) category for unclassified information about the reactors and propulsion plants of nuclear-powered warships. The CUI Registry page for Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information, last reviewed May 7, 2025, describes the category as related to the safety of reactors and associated naval nuclear propulsion plants, and the control of radiation and radioactivity associated with naval nuclear propulsion activities, including prescribing and enforcing standards and regulations for these areas as they affect the environment and the safety and health of workers, operators, and the general public. The Registry's category list puts NNPI in the Defense index grouping. This page covers the two authorities on the Registry page, the executive order behind the program, who designates the information, how the Department of Defense (DoD) marks and disseminates it, and why the category is Specified. For the program as a whole, see What is CUI?.

What the Registry lists for NNPI

The Registry page gives three banner forms. For Specified authorities the banner is CUI//SP-NNPI. For Basic authorities the banner is CUI, with CUI//NNPI as the alternative banner an agency may use to show the category. The category marking is NNPI.

The authority table has two rows. 42 USC 2013 is Basic, with banner CUI, and the sanctions column lists 42 USC 2168(b) and 42 USC 2168(c). 50 USC 2511 is Specified, with banner CUI//SP-NNPI, and no sanction listed. The two citations are a general one, the purpose section of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and a specific one, the section of Title 50 that keeps the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program's founding executive order in force.

Under paragraph (j) of 32 CFR 2002.4, CUI Basic is the subset for which the authorizing law, regulation, or Government-wide policy does not set out specific handling or dissemination controls, so the uniform controls in Part 2002 and the Registry apply. Paragraph (r) defines CUI Specified as the subset where the authority does contain specific handling controls. The Registry's decision to tag 50 U.S.C. 2511 as Specified is what makes a document designated under it carry SP-NNPI.

The Atomic Energy Act authority: 42 U.S.C. 2013

42 U.S.C. 2013, Purpose of chapter, lists six programs through which the Atomic Energy Act's policies are carried out. Paragraph (a) is research and development. The Registry cites the section as a whole; paragraph (b) is the one about information: a program for the dissemination of unclassified scientific and technical information and for the control, dissemination, and declassification of Restricted Data, subject to appropriate safeguards, so as to encourage scientific and industrial progress. Paragraph (c) is Government control of the possession, use, and production of atomic energy and special nuclear material, and paragraphs (d) through (f) cover peaceful uses, international cooperation, and administration.

The Registry lists the section as Basic, and paragraph (b) states a policy of controlled dissemination without saying how to handle any particular record. The Registry pairs it, in its Sanctions column rather than its authority column, with 42 U.S.C. 2168(b) and (c). 42 U.S.C. 2168, Dissemination of unclassified information, directs the Secretary of Energy, for atomic energy defense programs, to issue regulations or orders prohibiting the unauthorized dissemination of unclassified information about the design of production and utilization facilities, security measures for those facilities and for nuclear material including material in transit, and the design, manufacture, or use of atomic weapons declassified from Restricted Data. Subsection (a)(2) allows a prohibition only where dissemination could reasonably be expected to have a significant adverse effect on public health and safety or the common defense and security, and subsection (a)(4) requires any restriction to be the minimum needed. Subsection (b) sets a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per violation, which the Department of Energy's rule at 10 CFR 1017.29(c) now states as $337,966 after inflation adjustment, and subsection (c) makes a violation of a regulation under the section a criminal matter under 42 U.S.C. 2273. The same two subsections appear as sanctions on the Registry's Export Controlled page and in DoDI 5200.48 Table 1, where the NNPI row's Miscellaneous column reads Sanctions: Section 2168 and 2168(b) of Title 42.

The program authority: 50 U.S.C. 2511 and Executive Order 12344

50 U.S.C. 2511, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, is one sentence long. The provisions of Executive Order 12344, dated February 1, 1982, pertaining to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, "shall remain in force until changed by law." The source credits show the section was originally enacted as section 1634 of Public Law 98-525 on October 19, 1984, and renumbered as section 4101 of Public Law 107-314 by Public Law 108-136, section 3141(d)(2), on November 24, 2003; before 2003 it sat as a note under 42 U.S.C. 7158. The code reproduces the executive order beneath the statute.

Executive Order 12344, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, signed February 1, 1982, is therefore the operative text. Section 1 establishes the program as a single integrated program carried out by two organizational units, one in the Department of Energy and one in the Department of the Navy. Section 2 says both units are headed by the same individual, who directs the program in both departments and must have technical background and experience in naval nuclear propulsion. Section 3 requires presidential approval of the appointment, made jointly by the Secretary of the Navy through the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, for a term of eight years that the two Secretaries may jointly end or extend. Section 4 says a Navy officer Director is nominated for the grade of Admiral.

Sections 5 through 9 divide the Director's duties. In the Department of Energy, section 5 assigns the Director the functions of the Division of Naval Reactors, including direct supervision of the Bettis and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories, the Expended Core Facility, and the naval reactor prototype plants; research, design, construction, testing, maintenance, and disposition of naval nuclear propulsion plants; reactor safety and radiation control standards; training; and, in section 5(e), program administration including oversight of security, nuclear safeguards, transportation, public information, procurement, logistics, and fiscal management. Section 6 has the Director report to the Secretary of Energy through the Assistant Secretary for nuclear energy. In the Navy, section 7 gives the Director supervision of all technical aspects of the Navy's nuclear propulsion work and of training, including the Nuclear Power Schools, and section 8(b) repeats the program administration responsibility, including security and public information. Section 9 has the Director report directly to the Chief of Naval Operations. The Code's notes add that the national security functions of the Office of Naval Reactors moved on October 5, 1999 to the National Nuclear Security Administration, under a Deputy Administrator for Naval Reactors, with the order otherwise kept in force (50 U.S.C. 2406 and 2481).

The order has no section on classifying or marking information. What it does is place security and public information for the whole program, in both departments, under one Director with a statutory term. The Registry does not say why it tags 50 U.S.C. 2511 as Specified; the order's single point of control over the program's security and public information is the nearest thing in its text to a specific control.

Naval Reactors as the designating authority

Executive Order 12344 names the Department of Energy unit the Division of Naval Reactors, and the program as a whole is commonly called Naval Reactors. Under sections 5(e) and 8(b) the Director oversees security and public information for naval nuclear propulsion in both departments. The order does not use CUI terms, and inside DoD, DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.6.a makes the authorized holder who creates a document responsible for deciding whether it falls in a CUI category and for marking it.

DoDI 5200.48, Controlled Unclassified Information, effective March 6, 2020, says how that works inside DoD. Table 1, DoD CUI Registry Category Examples, has an NNPI row. The Authority column lists Section 2013 of Title 42 and Section 2511 of Title 50. The DoD Guidance column lists Chief of Naval Operations Instruction N9210.3 and CG-RN-1, Revision 3. The description column says to refer to Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Instruction N9210.3 and to CG-RN-1, Revision 3, the Department of Energy-DoD Classification Guide for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, for guidance on determining information as Unclassified Defense-NNPI. The instruction's reference list gives the full title and date: OPNAVINST N9210.3, Safeguarding of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (NNPI), June 7, 2010.

So a DoD holder has two documents to consult. The classification guide draws the line between classified NNPI and unclassified NNPI. The OPNAV instruction tells Navy commands and contractors how to safeguard what falls on the unclassified side. The CUI Registry and DoDI 5200.48 supply the marking and the general handling rules that sit on top.

U-NNPI and what documents carry it

Searchers type "U-NNPI" for unclassified Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information. DoDI 5200.48 uses "Unclassified Defense-NNPI" for the same thing in Table 1. Either way, the term marks the part of NNPI that is not classified and therefore falls inside the CUI program; paragraph (h) of 32 CFR 2002.4 excludes classified information from CUI, and the Registry page's description applies only to the unclassified part.

The glossary of DoDI 5200.48 defines NNPI as information concerning the design, arrangement, development, testing, operation, administration, training, maintenance, and repair of the propulsion plants of naval nuclear powered ships and prototypes, including the associated nuclear support facilities. That list describes the documents in practice: propulsion plant and reactor compartment arrangement drawings, test and operating procedures, maintenance and repair instructions, training materials for reactor operators, and records of the shore facilities that support the plants. The Registry description adds the radiological side: control of radiation and radioactivity, and the standards and regulations for it as they affect the environment and the safety and health of workers, operators, and the public. The Table 1 row describes NNPI as a subcategory of Defense CUI that relates to the protection of information concerning nuclear reactors, materials, or security.

Table 1 also explains why NNPI is treated differently from most CUI. The row's Miscellaneous column says DoD NNPI is unique as it is exempt from mandatory public disclosure under Exemption 3 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Paragraph 3.7.j of the instruction says the two nuclear rows in Table 1, NNPI and Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information, identify the two unique types of data used by the Department of Energy and DoD, both subject to safeguarding and limited distribution control and both exempt from mandatory public disclosure under Exemption 3. Exempt from mandatory disclosure means a FOIA request cannot compel its release.

How DoD marks, portion-marks, and disseminates NNPI

Marking follows 32 CFR 2002.20 and the DoD additions in DoDI 5200.48. Paragraph (b)(2) of 2002.20 makes category markings mandatory for CUI Specified, so a document designated under 50 U.S.C. 2511 reads CUI//SP-NNPI, and paragraph (b)(2)(iii) requires the banner to carry every Specified category that pertains to the document. DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.4.f requires a five-line designation indicator on the first page of every DoD CUI document: Controlled by the DoD Component, Controlled by the office, CUI Category, Distribution or Dissemination Control, and a point of contact. Paragraph 3.4.g notes that DoD made no required Basic or Specified distinction during initial implementation and would issue later guidance, so an older DoD document may show CUI Category: NNPI without the SP- prefix.

Portion marking is optional. Paragraph (f) of 32 CFR 2002.20 says agencies are permitted and encouraged to portion mark all CUI, with the acronym CUI, any category marking, and any limited dissemination control as the elements. The CUI Marking Handbook, Version 1.1 of December 6, 2016, gives the format: parentheses at the start of the portion, categories separated from CUI by a double forward slash, dissemination controls separated by another, and (U) on any portion with no CUI. A Specified NNPI paragraph with the DoD dissemination control is marked (CUI//SP-NNPI//NF), NF being the NOFORN portion marking on the Registry's limited dissemination page, and the handbook warns in capitals that Specified category markings "MUST always" be included in the banner. DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.4.b narrows DoD practice to (CUI) on every portion known to contain CUI and (U) on the rest, and paragraph 3.4.c covers CUI inside classified documents, the case for a document that mixes classified and unclassified NNPI: CUI portions inside a classified document are marked (CUI), CUI does not appear in the classified banner, and a warning box on the first page alerts the reader.

Dissemination is where NNPI stands out. Paragraph 3.4.d(2) of DoDI 5200.48 says the control marking NOFORN or NF will be applied to Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information, Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information, National Disclosure Policy information, and cover and cover support information, after a Foreign Disclosure Officer reviews for any agreement that prohibits the marking. For most CUI the same paragraph makes NOFORN discretionary; for NNPI it is the rule. The Registry's limited dissemination controls page defines NOFORN as barring dissemination to foreign governments, foreign nationals, and foreign or international organizations. A DoD NNPI document therefore typically carries the banner CUI//SP-NNPI//NOFORN, the same on every page. Paragraph 3.7.b adds that no individual may have access to CUI without an authorized, lawful government purpose, and paragraph 3.7.b(4) allows dissemination to a foreign recipient only after a disclosure authority approves it and the document is marked releasable to that recipient, which for NNPI means overriding the default NOFORN through the foreign disclosure process.

Decontrol of NNPI

32 CFR 2002.18 governs decontrol. Paragraph (a) says agencies should decontrol CUI as soon as practicable once it no longer requires controls, unless doing so conflicts with the governing law, regulation, or Government-wide policy. Paragraph (b) lists the automatic triggers: the governing authority no longer requires control, the designating agency releases the information to the public, the agency discloses it under an access statute as part of its public release process, or a pre-set date or event occurs. Paragraph (c) adds that the designating agency may decontrol in response to a holder's request or concurrently with a declassification action, as long as the information also qualifies for CUI decontrol. Paragraph (e) says decontrol is not authorization for public release, and paragraph (j) says unauthorized disclosure is not decontrol.

For NNPI the conflict clause in paragraph (a) matters. The governing authority is a program whose Director controls public information under an executive order Congress has kept in force, and whose unclassified information DoD describes as exempt from mandatory public disclosure. DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.3.a(2) says decontrol and release are executed by the originator of the information, the original classification authority, or designated decontrol offices, that there are no specific timelines to decontrol CUI unless a law or regulation sets one, and that decontrol occurs when the CUI no longer requires safeguarding. Section 4 of the instruction requires a formal review under DoDI 5230.09 before CUI is decontrolled or released to the public. Under that paragraph an ordinary holder does not decontrol NNPI on its own.

Common confusions with neighboring categories

NNPI is not Restricted Data. Restricted Data is classified under the Atomic Energy Act, and 32 CFR 2002.4 excludes classified information from CUI. The CUI category covers only the unclassified part of naval nuclear propulsion information, and the DOE-DoD classification guide CG-RN-1 decides where the line falls.

NNPI is not UCNI. The Registry's Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information - Defense category, marked DCNI, sits next to NNPI in the Defense grouping, and DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 lists it under 10 U.S.C. 128(a) and 32 CFR Part 223, covering special nuclear material security, DoD nuclear equipment and facilities, and nuclear weapons in DoD custody, designated by the heads of DoD Components under DoDD 5210.83. Both rows are FOIA Exemption 3 information and both carry NOFORN under paragraph 3.4.d(2), but the laws, the designators, and the subject matter differ.

NNPI is not Controlled Technical Information. A propulsion plant drawing is technical information with military application, and DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.7.c would treat it as CTI under DFARS 252.204-7012 with a distribution statement. NNPI is the category that identifies why that drawing is controlled and who controls it, and a document may carry both categories in its designation indicator.

NNPI is a separate category from Export Controlled, although the Registry's Export Controlled category lists 42 U.S.C. 2168(a) among its Basic authorities and names sensitive nuclear technology information in its description. The two categories share a sanctions statute, not a designator.

CUI//NNPI and CUI//SP-NNPI differ by authority. The Registry lists 42 U.S.C. 2013 as Basic and 50 U.S.C. 2511 as Specified. The Marking Handbook says Specified is not a higher level of CUI, only different; the SP- form tells the holder that program-specific handling rules apply.

What to check

• Does the banner read CUI//SP-NNPI or CUI//NNPI, and does the designation indicator name the Navy or Department of Energy office that controls the information?
• Does the document carry NOFORN or NF as DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.4.d(2) requires, and if it is marked REL TO instead, is the foreign disclosure decision on record?
• Has the information been reviewed against CG-RN-1, Revision 3, so that nothing classified is sitting in a document marked only as CUI?
• Is every recipient someone with an authorized, lawful government purpose under paragraph 3.7.b, and is the recipient a U.S. person?
• If the document also contains technical data, does it carry the distribution statement and any export-control warning that DoDI 5230.24 requires, outside the CUI banner?
• Has anyone treated a FOIA request or a public release as decontrol, when DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 says DoD NNPI is exempt from mandatory disclosure and decontrol belongs to the originator or a designated decontrol office under paragraph 3.3.a(2)?

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Questions people ask

What is NNPI?

Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (NNPI) is a CUI Registry category covering information related to the safety of reactors and associated naval nuclear propulsion plants, and the control of radiation and radioactivity from naval nuclear propulsion activities, including the standards and regulations for those areas as they affect the environment and the health of workers, operators, and the public. DoDI 5200.48 defines it more concretely as information on the design, testing, operation, maintenance, and repair of naval nuclear propulsion plants and their support facilities.

What is U-NNPI?

U-NNPI is the common short form for unclassified Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information, the part of NNPI that is not classified and is therefore handled as CUI. DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 calls the same thing Unclassified Defense-NNPI and points to OPNAVINST N9210.3 and the DOE-DoD classification guide CG-RN-1, Revision 3, for determining what falls in it. Classified NNPI is outside the CUI program, because 32 CFR 2002.4 excludes classified information from CUI.

How is NNPI marked under CUI?

The Registry lists the category marking as NNPI. Information designated under 50 U.S.C. 2511, the Specified authority, carries the banner CUI//SP-NNPI. Information designated under 42 U.S.C. 2013, the Basic authority, carries CUI, with CUI//NNPI as the alternative Basic banner. DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.4.d adds the NOFORN or NF control to NNPI, so a DoD document typically reads CUI//SP-NNPI//NOFORN, with a five-line designation indicator on the first page.

Is NNPI classified?

Some is and some is not. NNPI that is classified is outside the CUI program, because 32 CFR 2002.4 excludes classified information from CUI, and DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.7.k says Restricted Data is classified. Unclassified NNPI is the CUI category. DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 points to the DOE-DoD classification guide CG-RN-1, Revision 3, and OPNAVINST N9210.3 for guidance on determining which information is Unclassified Defense-NNPI.

Why is NNPI CUI Specified?

Because the Registry tags one of its two authorities, 50 U.S.C. 2511, as Specified. That statute keeps Executive Order 12344 in force until changed by law, and the order gives the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program oversight of security, nuclear safeguards, and public information for the program in both the Department of Energy and the Navy. Under 32 CFR 2002.4, an authority that carries its own handling controls makes the information CUI Specified, and the banner must carry SP-NNPI.

Who designates NNPI?

Inside DoD, DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.6.a makes the authorized holder who creates a document responsible for deciding whether it falls in a CUI category, and Table 1 points that holder to OPNAVINST N9210.3, Safeguarding of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information, dated June 7, 2010, and CG-RN-1, Revision 3. Sections 5(e) and 8(b) of Executive Order 12344 give the Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program oversight of security and public information for the program.

Can NNPI be released to foreign nationals?

Not without a foreign disclosure decision. DoDI 5200.48 paragraph 3.4.d(2) says the control marking NOFORN or NF will be applied to NNPI, along with Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information and cover information, after review by a Foreign Disclosure Officer for any agreement that prohibits the marking. The Registry's limited dissemination controls page defines NOFORN as barring dissemination to foreign governments, foreign nationals, and foreign or international organizations.

Is NNPI exempt from FOIA?

DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 says DoD NNPI is unique in that it is exempt from mandatory public disclosure under Exemption 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, which covers information a statute protects. The Registry lists 42 U.S.C. 2168(b) and (c) as the sanctions for the Basic authority; that section lets the Secretary of Energy prohibit unauthorized dissemination of certain unclassified nuclear information, with a statutory civil penalty of up to $100,000 per violation that 10 CFR 1017.29 now adjusts to $337,966.

What is the difference between NNPI and UCNI?

Both are nuclear CUI categories in the Defense grouping, but they rest on different laws and cover different things. DoDI 5200.48 Table 1 lists Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information - Defense, marked DCNI in the Registry, under 10 U.S.C. 128(a) and 32 CFR Part 223, covering special nuclear material security, equipment, facilities, and nuclear weapons in DoD custody. NNPI rests on 42 U.S.C. 2013 and 50 U.S.C. 2511 and covers naval reactor and propulsion plant information.

Sources

1. 1Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information (CUI Registry category) · National Archives, Information Security Oversight Office
2. 2CUI Registry: Category List · National Archives, Information Security Oversight Office
3. 3CUI Registry: Limited Dissemination Controls · National Archives, Information Security Oversight Office
4. 4CUI Marking Handbook, Version 1.1, December 6, 2016 · National Archives, Information Security Oversight Office
5. 5Executive Order 12344, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, February 1, 1982 · National Archives, Federal Register
6. 650 U.S.C. 2511 Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
7. 742 U.S.C. 2013 Purpose of chapter · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
8. 842 U.S.C. 2168 Dissemination of unclassified information · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
9. 910 CFR 1017.29 Civil penalty · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
10. 1032 CFR 2002.4 Definitions · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
11. 1132 CFR 2002.18 Decontrolling · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
12. 1232 CFR 2002.20 Marking · GovInfo, U.S. Government Publishing Office
13. 13DoD Instruction 5200.48, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), March 6, 2020 · Department of Defense, Directives Division

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