Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 5210.83
July 12, 2012
USD(I)
SUBJECT: DoD Unclassified Controlled Nuclear Information (UCNI)
References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This Instruction:
a. Reissues DoD Directive (DoDD) 5210.83 (Reference (a)) as a DoD Instruction (DoDI) in
accordance with the authority in DoDD 5143.01 (Reference (b)).
b. Updates policies, assigns responsibilities and prescribes procedures for the
implementation of section 128 of title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.) (Reference (c)), which is
the statutory basis for controlling unclassified information on the physical protection of DoD
special nuclear material (SNM), SNM equipment, and SNM facilities. Such information is
referred to as DoD UCNI, to distinguish it from a similar Department of Energy (DOE) program.
c. Identifies the authority to be used for denying disclosure of DoD UCNI pursuant to
section 552 of title 5, U.S.C. (also known and hereinafter referred to as “The Freedom of
Information Act” (FOIA) (Reference (d))).
d. Supplements security classification guidance contained in DoDI 5210.67 (Reference (e)),
DOE classification guide CG-SS-4 (Reference (f)), and DoD/DOE joint classification guides by
establishing procedures for identifying, controlling, and limiting the dissemination of
unclassified information on the physical protection of DoD SNM.
2. APPLICABILITY. This Instruction applies to:
a. OSD, the Military Departments, the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Office of the Inspector General of the
Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD Field Activities, and all other
organizational entities within the Department of Defense (hereinafter referred to collectively as
the “DoD Components”).
