ICD 705, explained

Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 705 is the policy behind every SCIF. The directive, titled Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities and signed by the Director of National Intelligence on May 26, 2010, runs 4 unclassified pages and states one rule: all sensitive compartmented information (SCI) must be processed, stored, used, or discussed in an accredited Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF). The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) glossary defines that facility as an area, room, group of rooms, building, or installation certified and accredited as meeting Director of National Intelligence security standards for processing, storing, or discussing SCI. The requirements themselves are not in the directive. They sit in 2 Intelligence Community Standards and a technical specification, and this post explains how the 4 documents fit together and what the accreditation they describe actually involves. The post on SCIFs covers the building itself.

What ICD 705 says

The directive rests on the National Security Act of 1947, Executive Order 12333, and Executive Order 13526. Section B states the purpose: every Intelligence Community (IC) SCIF shall comply with uniform IC physical and technical security requirements, to protect SCI and to "foster efficient, consistent, and reciprocal use of SCIFs" across the IC. It applies to all facilities accredited by IC elements where SCI is processed, stored, used, or discussed.

ICD 705 replaced the Director of Central Intelligence Directive (DCID) 6/9, Physical Security Standards for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, together with its manual and all of its annexes, and 3 Intelligence Community Policy Memoranda from 2005 through 2007 that had updated DCID 6/9.

The signed directive carries a later technical amendment. Under ICD 101, the amendment updated the text to reflect the establishment of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the designation of its Director as responsible for the counterintelligence and security functions described in a Director of National Intelligence memorandum of February 24, 2017.

The 9 policy statements

Section D of ICD 705 is a list of 9 numbered policy statements. In substance:

1. All SCI must be processed, stored, used, or discussed in an accredited SCIF.
2. All SCIFs shall comply with uniform security requirements, which the Director of NCSC issues as an IC Standard covering risk mitigation factors and specific categories and uses of SCIFs.
3. All SCIFs shall be accredited before use. SCIFs accredited before the directive may keep operating under the requirements in force at their last accreditation, but must meet the current requirements at re-accreditation unless a waiver is granted. A second IC Standard covers accreditation, re-accreditation, and de-accreditation.
4. The IC element head may accredit, re-accredit, and de-accredit SCIFs, and may delegate that authority to a single named Accrediting Official.
5. The IC element head may waive the uniform requirements for a given SCIF on a documented mission need, in either direction, and may in exceptional circumstances exempt a SCIF from reciprocal use. That authority may be delegated once, to a senior official who may not be the Accrediting Official.
6. A waiver request must state the mission need and the specific deviations. Approved waivers are reported to the Director of NCSC within 30 days.
7. All SCIFs shall be constructed, operated, and maintained for reciprocal use, and SCIFs accredited without a waiver shall be available for it. A third IC Standard covers reciprocal use.
8. SCIFs under Chief of Mission authority follow Overseas Security Policy Board standards, with waivers approved by the Department of State's Bureau of Diplomatic Security before construction, renovation, or operations begin.
9. The Director of NCSC manages an inventory of all SCIFs, updated within 30 days of a change.

The words "wall," "door," and "alarm" do not appear in the directive.

ICS 705-1: the physical and technical security standards

Intelligence Community Standard (ICS) 705-1, Physical and Technical Security Standards for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, took effect on September 17, 2010. The stated aim is protection of SCI against compromising emanations, inadvertent observation or overhearing, disclosure by unauthorized persons, forced entry, and surreptitious and covert entry, in a way that enables reciprocal use. IC elements had 180 days to implement it, and it directed the Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Security to develop and keep updating the technical specifications that implement it.

The standard defines the facility types an accreditation can name: Secure Work Area (no storage), Temporary Secure Working Area (less than 40 hours of SCI handling per month, no storage), Continuous Operation (staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week), Temporary SCIF (a limited time, for tactical, emergency, or immediate operational requirements), Open Storage, and Closed Storage, which requires General Services Administration (GSA) approved containers. A facility accredited for closed storage and non-amplified discussions is not reciprocal for open storage and amplified discussions.

The physical and technical standards in Section G are stated as outcomes:

• The perimeter, which includes walls, windows, doors, ceiling, and floor, shall provide a physical barrier to forced, covert, and surreptitious entry, and construction above a false ceiling or below a raised floor must show visual evidence of penetration.
• When radio frequency (RF) shielding is required by a Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority (CTTA) evaluation, it should be planned during initial construction, because retrofitting costs significantly more.
• SCIFs used for SCI discussions provide acoustic protection against being overheard outside.
• RF transmitters may not enter a SCIF unless evaluated as low risk by a competent authority and approved by the Accrediting Official.
• Access control methods are approved by the Accrediting Official. Automated systems use at least 2 technologies, such as badge, PIN, or biometric; small facilities with a single monitored entrance may use electromechanical, mechanical, or personal recognition.
• The intrusion detection system (IDS) shall detect attempted or actual unauthorized human entry and comply with Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 2050 Extent 3. Contractor SCIFs keep a current UL certificate of installation and service. Response times meet 32 CFR Parts 2001 and 2004 for protecting Top Secret information.

Construction has its own rules in Section F, with the roles in Section J. All SCIF planning begins with sponsorship by an Accrediting Official. Each project has a Construction Security Plan (CSP). Design and construction are performed by U.S. companies using U.S. persons, with mitigations documented in the CSP when non-U.S. citizens are used. A Site Security Manager (SSM) is the single point of contact for construction security and must report violations or deviations from the CSP to the Accrediting Official within 3 business days. Section E makes security-in-depth mandatory for SCIFs outside the United States.

Section H covers waivers. A waiver is considered only in exceptional circumstances when a standard cannot be met or mitigated, or when a documented risk-based need exists to exceed it. The standard is blunt about the cost: a waiver for standards that cannot be met "removes a SCIF from mandatory reciprocal use." Waivers are reported within 30 days through the IC SCIF repository.

ICS 705-2: accreditation and reciprocal use

ICS 705-02, Standards for the Accreditation and Reciprocal Use of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, dated December 22, 2016, covers 2 of the 3 subjects the directive ordered standards on: accreditation and reciprocal use. It calls accreditation "the beginning of a life-cycle process" of continuous monitoring, periodic re-evaluation, and documentation review.

A letter of accreditation is a formal statement on behalf of the IC element head that the facility has been designed, constructed, inspected, and certified for the protection of SCI under ICD 705. The letter must state the SCIF identity, the SCIF type (open or closed storage, discussion or non-discussion), the effective date, a statement that the SCIF meets all physical, TEMPEST, and technical security standards, and any approved waivers with the date the standard will be met.

Before issuing it, the Accrediting Official or a designee inspects the facility and reviews the Fixed Facility Checklist, standard operating procedures, emergency plans, the CSP, and any waiver packages. The standard says a TEMPEST review and verification of countermeasures by a CTTA "is a necessary part of the accreditation process," and the Accrediting Official may also require a technical surveillance countermeasures inspection for a new SCIF or a significant renovation.

The life cycle then runs on a schedule. Re-evaluations happen based on program sensitivity, threat, modifications, and past performance, or at least every 5 years. Re-accreditation to current standards is required after major modifications, a change in program sensitivity, or a change in threat, and SCIFs holding waivers under previous standards are re-accredited to the current ones. A SCIF that was de-accredited but controlled at the Secret level for less than a year may be re-accredited with the Accrediting Official's approval. Results of every re-accreditation go to NCSC through the SCIF repository within 30 days, and de-accreditation is a formal notice through the same repository.

The IC Tech Spec, and what changed in 1.5 and 1.5.1

The working document is the NCSC's Technical Specifications for Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, called the IC Tech Spec. Version 1.5 is dated March 13, 2020 and runs 13 chapters, from risk management and fixed facility construction through overseas, temporary, airborne, and shipboard SCIFs, intrusion detection, access control, acoustics, portable electronic devices, telecommunications, and management, ending with forms and plans. Chapter 1 says that when the specifications are applied to new construction and renovation, the result satisfies ICS 705-01 and enables reciprocal use.

The change history in Version 1.5 records what was approved on November 13, 2019: clarifying language in the risk management chapter, definitions of the types of Compartmented Area, Pre-Construction Checklist language and expanded SCIF door criteria in Chapter 3, a reference to the Inspectable Materials Checklist for overseas SCIFs, technical surveillance countermeasures language in the inspections section, co-use agreement instructions in Chapter 12, and a Chapter 13 with an updated Fixed Facility Checklist plus new co-use guide and cancellation forms, an Inspectable Materials Checklist, and a Pre-Construction Checklist.

Version 1.5.1 is a memorandum from the acting Director of NCSC dated July 26, 2021. It inserted a new Chapter 13, Second Party Integree and Second Party Liaison Spaces within U.S. SCIFs, and renumbered the forms and plans as Chapter 14. The chapter defines Second Party as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom and lets both kinds of officer be given unescorted access, with Accrediting Official approval, to SCIFs that contain only information and systems releasable to them. The memorandum describes the specification as a living document.

The accreditation process, step by step

The documents describe one sequence.

1. Sponsorship. ICS 705-1 says all SCIF planning begins with an Accrediting Official, and the Tech Spec's Pre-Construction Checklist supports concept approval.
2. Design review. The Accrediting Official approves the design concept, the CSP, and the final design before construction starts. The CTTA reviews the plans to decide whether TEMPEST countermeasures are required and documents recommendations for the Cognizant Security Authority and Accrediting Official.
3. Construction under the CSP. The SSM implements the plan, inspects the site, controls access, and reports deviations within 3 business days.
4. Documentation. The Fixed Facility Checklist records the finished space. Where electronic processing occurs, the TEMPEST Checklist accompanies it, and a Compartmented Area Checklist covers any CA.
5. Inspection and letter. The Accrediting Official inspects, reviews the documents listed in ICS 705-2, confirms the CTTA's verification of countermeasures, and issues the letter of accreditation stating type and waivers.
6. Repository entry. Chapter 12 of the Tech Spec lists what the SCIF repository holds for each facility, from identifiers and location to type, security-in-depth, accreditation dates, and every waiver with its approval authority and expiration.
7. Operation. The Security Officer writes a standard operating procedure, reviews it at least annually, conducts annual self-inspections, and reports any change in security posture to the Accrediting Official at once. The Accrediting Official inspects at least every 5 years and may suspend or revoke accreditation, which closes the SCIF.
8. De-accreditation. Chapter 12 lists the closeout steps, including requests to revoke the information system and SCIF accreditations.

The Fixed Facility Checklist

The Fixed Facility Checklist (FFC) is the form the whole process turns on. In Version 1.5 it runs 21 pages, is marked "UNCLASSIFIED (Until Filled In)," and is checked as domestic, overseas not under Chief of Mission, or overseas under Chief of Mission, and as pre-construction, final accreditation, or update. The 9 sections are general information, security-in-depth, SCIF security, doors, intrusion detection systems, telecommunication systems and equipment baseline, acoustical protection, classified destruction methods, and information systems, TEMPEST, and technical security. The general information section asks for the accrediting agency, the SCIF identification number, the contract number and expiration date where one applies, and the responsible security personnel.

The TEMPEST Checklist is a separate 7-page form. It asks for an external map showing the distance from the SCIF perimeter to the inspectable space boundary, the location of any space within 100 meters occupied by foreign nationals, and an internal map identifying every piece of equipment that electronically processes unencrypted national security information and every signal line marked RED or BLACK. Both forms feed the documentation the Tech Spec says a SCIF must keep, alongside the CSP, the CTTA evaluation, the information system accreditation, and the standard operating procedures.

Reciprocity, co-use, and joint use

ICS 705-2 says any SCIF accredited by an IC element Accrediting Official "shall be reciprocally accepted" by all IC elements when there are no waivers to ICS 705-01, ICS 705-02, and the Tech Spec. Reciprocity arises when a SCIF, or part of one, must be shared with a compartment, program, or special activity sponsored by an IC element or organization other than the host's Cognizant Security Authority.

Sharing requires a co-use agreement. The agreement identifies the responsibilities of tenant and host and the purpose of the use, is completed on the SCIF Co-Use Request and MOA form in the Tech Spec, and is signed by the tenant's and host's Accrediting Officials or designees after routing through each element's co-use coordinators. Co-use becomes joint use when the tenant wants to use the host's information system, which adds approval by the host's information system Authorizing Official. A tenant accepts the host's accreditation and pays for any modification it needs, the host keeps security cognizance, and Chapter 12 of the Tech Spec puts the burden of initiating and cancelling the agreement on the tenant.

The relationship with special access program facilities runs both ways. ICS 705-2 says a SAPF built and run to the Tech Spec satisfies the ICD 705 documents and can be accredited as a SCIF. DoD Manual 5205.07, effective January 17, 2025, says the reverse: the NCSC SCIF specifications and the ICD 705 series are the physical standards for special access program information, and a program's central office may accept an existing SCIF accreditation for SAP discussion in that SCIF's offices and conference rooms.

ICD 705 compliance for contractors and vendors

Contractors come under ICD 705 through the National Industrial Security Program. 32 CFR 117.23 says national intelligence is under the jurisdiction and control of the Director of National Intelligence, and that for classified national intelligence and SCI, contractors "will follow Intelligence Community directives, policy guidance, standards, and specifications." ICS 705-2 then adds the contractor-specific rules: a co-use agreement is required for each contracting effort, including proposals, performed in an accredited contractor SCIF; co-use requests for a contractor SCIF must carry an end date; and a contractor who wants to respond to a solicitation for another agency must obtain a government sponsor and a co-use request approved by both authorities.

"ICD 705 compliant" is a phrase that appears on products from wall panels to modular rooms. The documents support a narrower claim. A product can be built to the Tech Spec, but compliance in the sense the directive uses it belongs to a facility, is established by an Accrediting Official after inspection and a CTTA review, and is recorded in a letter of accreditation and the repository. The SCI defined in the NIST glossary, information concerning or derived from intelligence sources, methods, or analytical processes, may enter the space only after that letter exists. For software, whether an outside connection exists for any purpose is a question for the site, and a program that needs none avoids the question.

What to check

• Which version of the Tech Spec the SCIF was accredited to, and whether a planned modification is major enough to require re-accreditation to the current version under ICS 705-2.
• Whether the letter of accreditation lists any waiver, since a waiver to a standard that cannot be met removes the SCIF from mandatory reciprocal use.
• Whether the work is sponsored by someone other than the host's Cognizant Security Authority, which requires a co-use agreement, and whether the tenant will use the host's information system, which makes it joint use.
• For a contractor SCIF, the end date on the co-use request and whether a government sponsor exists for any proposal work.
• Whether the Fixed Facility Checklist and TEMPEST Checklist on file match the equipment and lines now in the room.
• What the software calls outside the perimeter, and whether it works when it can reach nothing.

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Questions people ask

What is ICD 705?

Intelligence Community Directive 705, Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, is a 4-page unclassified directive signed by the Director of National Intelligence on May 26, 2010. It requires that all sensitive compartmented information be processed, stored, used, or discussed in an accredited SCIF, that all SCIFs meet uniform physical and technical security requirements, and that SCIFs be built and run for reciprocal use. It replaced Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/9 and directs the requirements themselves to be issued as Intelligence Community Standards.

What is the difference between ICD 705 and ICS 705-1?

ICD 705 is the policy. ICS 705-1, Physical and Technical Security Standards for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, effective September 17, 2010, is the standard on the uniform security requirements the directive ordered. It states what a SCIF perimeter, alarm system, access control, and construction process must achieve, and it assigns roles to the Accrediting Official, Site Security Manager, and Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority. ICS 705-2 covers accreditation and reciprocal use, and the IC Tech Spec gives the measurements.

What are the ICD 705 SCIF standards for construction?

ICS 705-1 states them as principles: the perimeter, meaning walls, floor, ceiling, windows, and doors, must be a barrier to forced, covert, and surreptitious entry; the intrusion detection system must comply with UL 2050 Extent 3; access control is approved by the Accrediting Official; and construction is done by U.S. companies using U.S. persons under a Construction Security Plan. The Technical Specifications for Construction and Management of SCIFs turn those principles into wall assemblies, door hardware, and alarm response times.

What does ICD 705 compliance mean?

Strictly, a facility complies, not a product. ICD 705 and its standards govern how a SCIF is designed, built, inspected, accredited, and shared. The IC Tech Spec says that when its specifications are applied to new construction and renovation, the result satisfies ICS 705-1 and can be reciprocally accepted. A vendor can build to the specification, but only an Accrediting Official can accredit the space, and the Fixed Facility Checklist and inspection are how that happens.

What changed in IC Tech Spec Version 1.5?

The change history in Version 1.5 lists revisions approved November 13, 2019 and promulgated by a memorandum dated March 13, 2020. They defined the types of Compartmented Area in Chapter 2, added Pre-Construction Checklist language and expanded the SCIF door criteria in Chapter 3, added technical surveillance countermeasures language to inspections, added co-use agreement instructions to Chapter 12, and updated Chapter 13 with a revised Fixed Facility Checklist, co-use guide and cancellation forms, an Inspectable Materials Checklist, and a Pre-Construction Checklist.

What is Tech Spec Version 1.5.1?

Version 1.5.1 is a memorandum from the acting Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center dated July 26, 2021. It inserted a new Chapter 13 on Second Party Integree and Second Party Liaison spaces inside U.S. SCIFs, covering officers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and moved the forms and plans to Chapter 14. The memorandum describes the change as modifications to Chapter 13 of Version 1.5 and calls the specification a living document.

How does SCIF accreditation work under ICD 705?

ICS 705-2 describes accreditation as the start of a life cycle. The Accrediting Official or a designee inspects the SCIF and reviews the Fixed Facility Checklist, standard operating procedures, emergency plans, Construction Security Plan, and any waiver packages. A TEMPEST review and verification of countermeasures by a Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority is a necessary part of the process. The letter of accreditation then states the SCIF identity, the storage and acoustic type, the effective date, and any waivers. Re-evaluation follows at least every 5 years.

What is the Fixed Facility Checklist?

The Fixed Facility Checklist, or FFC, is the form in the IC Tech Spec that documents how a SCIF is built and run. Version 1.5 of the form runs 21 pages and is marked unclassified until filled in. The sections cover general information, security-in-depth, SCIF security, doors, intrusion detection, telecommunications, acoustics, classified destruction, and information systems and TEMPEST. The Accrediting Official reviews it before accreditation, and the specification lists it among the records a SCIF must keep.

What is a SCIF co-use agreement?

ICS 705-2 says reciprocal use of a SCIF by a program sponsored by someone other than the host's Cognizant Security Authority requires a co-use agreement that identifies the responsibilities of tenant and host and the purpose of the use. It is signed by both Accrediting Officials or their designees and routed through each element's co-use coordinators. Co-use becomes joint use when the tenant wants to use the host's information system, which also needs the host's information system Authorizing Official to approve.

Does ICD 705 apply to contractors?

Yes, through the National Industrial Security Program. 32 CFR 117.23 says that for classified national intelligence and SCI, contractors will follow Intelligence Community directives, policy guidance, standards, and specifications. ICS 705-2 adds rules specific to contractor SCIFs: a co-use agreement is required for each contract or proposal performed there, co-use requests for a contractor SCIF must carry an end date, and a contractor wanting to work a proposal for an agency other than the host needs a government sponsor.

Sources

1. 1Intelligence Community Directive 705, Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities · Office of the Director of National Intelligence
2. 2Intelligence Community Standard 705-1, Physical and Technical Security Standards for Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities · Office of the Director of National Intelligence
3. 3Intelligence Community Standard 705-02, Standards for the Accreditation and Reciprocal Use of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities · National Counterintelligence and Security Center
4. 4Technical Specifications for Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, Version 1.5 · National Counterintelligence and Security Center
5. 5Technical Specifications for Construction and Management of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, Version 1.5.1 · National Counterintelligence and Security Center
6. 6DoD Manual 5205.07, Special Access Program Security Manual · Department of Defense
7. 732 CFR 117.23, Supplement to this rule: Security Requirements for ACCM, SAPs, SCI, RD, FRD, TFNI, and NNPI · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
8. 8Sensitive compartmented information facility (glossary entry) · National Institute of Standards and Technology
9. 9Sensitive compartmented information (glossary entry) · National Institute of Standards and Technology

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