Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 5200.39
May 28, 2015
Incorporating Change 3, Effective October 1, 2020
USD(I&S)/USD(R&E)
SUBJECT: Critical Program Information (CPI) Identification and Protection Within Research,
Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E)
References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This instruction:
a. Reissues DoD Instruction (DoDI) 5200.39 (Reference (a)) in accordance with the
authorities in DoD Directive (DoDD) 5143.01 (Reference (b)) and DoDD 5134.01 (Reference
(c)).
b. Establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for the identification and protection of CPI.
c. Establishes policy in accordance with DoDD 5000.01 (Reference (d)) and DoDI 5000.02
(Reference (e)).
d. Incorporates and cancels the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology,
and Logistics (USD(AT&L)) memorandum (Reference (f)).
2. APPLICABILITY. This instruction applies to 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 DoD (referred to collectively in
this instruction as the “DoD Components”).
3. POLICY. It is DoD policy that:
a. U.S. warfighter technological advantage will be maintained and operational effectiveness
of DoD capabilities will be preserved through the identification and protection of CPI.
