The National Archives and Records Administration
Summary
NARA runs on $454.3 million and 2,628 people in FY2026 -- and under 44 U.S.C. § 1507, a federal rule has no legal force until NARA's Office of the Federal Register publishes it. The Good Citizen series' entry on the government's records keeper.
What is this organization?
What does it do?
is the government's records keeper and publisher of law. In FY2025 it kept basic processing current for 92 percent of its unclassified archival holdings⧉ -- up from 89.5 percent in FY2024 -- while taking in roughly 100,000 cubic feet of new unprocessed records that year. Its Office of the Federal Register publishes the daily Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and the Statutes-at-Large⧉; its National Personnel Records Center holds military and civilian service files and, via a new digital case system, lets veterans and families order records online. also operates 16 Presidential Libraries.
What does it cost to run — money and people?
Congress enacted $454.3 million in total appropriations⧉ for in FY2026 -- $421.0 million for Operating Expenses plus its Inspector General, building repairs, and historical-records grants -- down from $474.2 million in FY2025, funding 2,628 full-time staff⧉, down from 2,796. 's FY2027 request seeks a further cut to $419.7 million. Measured against the Census Bureau's 341.8 million U.S. residents⧉ as of July 2025, FY2026 funding works out to about $1.33 per person.
View data as table
| Citizen Services | 137 |
|---|---|
| Legislative, Presidential & Museum Services | 127.7 |
| Agency and Related Services | 64.8 |
| Facility Operations | 61.5 |
| Electronic Records Initiative | 30 |
Why is it good for society?
A federal rule does not bind anyone until publishes it. Under 44 U.S.C. § 1507), a regulation "is not valid as against a person who has not had actual knowledge of it" until 's Office of the Federal Register files it and makes it public -- the mechanism giving every federal rule legal force and letting courts take judicial notice of it without further proof. The counterfactual is a rulebook binding no one because no one could have known it; 's registry is what makes federal law enforceable and citable.
- 's FY2026 total appropriations ($454.3M) are down $19.9M from FY2025 ($474.2M) and staffing fell from 2,796 to 2,628 ; the FY2027 request seeks a further cut to $419.7M.
- Federal regulations get their legal force from 's Office of the Federal Register: under 44 U.S.C. § 1507, a rule can't bind someone who lacks actual knowledge of it until files and publishes it.
Your handles.* Request your own or a family member's military or federal civilian personnel records through the National Personnel Records Center — the office built its new digital case system (CMRS) to serve. Search or request access to historical federal records through the National Archives Catalog. To find, cite, or comment on a proposed federal rule before it takes effect, use the Federal Register's public inspection and comment tools.
Sources(6) ▾
- National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration FY 2027 Congressional Justification (2026-04-03) — 's own FY2027 congressional budget justification submitted to its appropriations subcommittees -- gives FY2025 actual, FY2026 enacted, and FY2027 request budget-authority and figures side by side (Summary of Requested Appropriations Action table), plus the Operating Expenses breakdown by budget activity used for this entry's chart, and the FY2027 request narrative comparing it to the FY2026 enacted level. archives.gov · original document
- National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration FY 2025 Agency Financial Report (2025-12-18) — 's own statutorily required annual performance and financial report for FY2025 -- source for 's organizational structure (Agency Services, Federal Records Centers, National Personnel Records Center, Presidential Libraries, Research Services, Office of the Federal Register), the FY2025 archival-holdings processing performance measure, the FY2025 Case Management and Reporting System (CMRS) accomplishment for veterans, and the count of Presidential Libraries as heritage assets. 's financial statements carry their own independent audit opinion within this report. archives.gov · original document
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (Statutes at Large), Public Law 98-497 -- National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984 (98 Stat. 2280) (1984-10-19) — The enacted statute (Pub. L. 98-497, approved October 19, 1984) that re-established as an independent executive-branch agency, transferring the National Archives and Records Service out of the General Services Administration -- the source for this entry's identity paragraph, including the Section 101 establishment language and the Section 301 April 1, 1985 effective date. govinfo.gov · original document
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (Statutes at Large), Public Law No. 432, 73d Congress -- "An Act To establish a National Archives of the United States Government, and for other purposes" (48 Stat. 1122) (1934-06-19) — The original 1934 statute creating the Office of Archivist of the United States and the National Archives Establishment, approved by President Franklin Roosevelt on June 19, 1934 -- the source for this entry's founding-date fact. govinfo.gov · original document
- Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives (United States Code), 44 U.S.C. § 1507 -- Filing document as constructive notice; publication in Federal Register as presumption of validity; judicial notice; citation (2026-07-15) — The current official U.S. Code text (the site states it reflects laws in effect on July 15, 2026) of the provision giving Federal Register publication its legal effect -- the source for this entry's 'why is it good for society' mechanism and counterfactual. Wayback save requests for this URL were rate-limited (HTTP 429) at capture time; the URL above is the direct, one-click link to the official Law Revision Counsel text, the authoritative source for the U.S. Code itself. uscode.house.gov · original document
- U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Population Growth Slows Due to Historic Decline in Net International Migration (Vintage 2025 national population estimate) (2026-01-27) — The Census Bureau's own Vintage 2025 national population estimate release, giving the U.S. resident population as of July 1, 2025 -- the per-resident denominator for this entry's cost-per-person KPI, per better_metrics.md's sourced-denominator discipline. census.gov · original document
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The National Archives and Records Administration began as the National Archives Establishment, created when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Archives Act of 1934⧉ on June 19, 1934, creating the Office of Archivist of the United States. After 15 years of independence and decades folded inside the General Services Administration, the National Archives and Records Administration Act of 1984⧉ re-established , effective April 1, 1985, as an independent executive-branch agency led by an Archivist the President appoints and the Senate confirms.