The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 1-346. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Certain files have been closed by the United Nations, by special order of the Secretary-General.

During March 1991, the status of all materials which had previously been closed to the public was reviewed with respect to the declassification policies outlined in the two letters from U.N. Chief Archivist Alf Erlandsson. Under these guidelines, code cables, items captioned "Top Secret" or "Strictly Confidential" and certain personal records remain closed.

In May 2016, The United Nations declassified the entire contents of Boxes 175-184. These materials are now available for research use. In August 2024, the contents of boxes 104-108 were opened, with the exception of one folder in box 107 that remains restricted. In January 2025, select cables in box 125 were opened.

In most cases, materials for which restrictions remain in force have been removed from the regular collection and placed in specially marked boxes at the end of the series. The only exception to this practice involves boxes which contain restricted materials exclusively. These have been sealed with red string and left in sequence with the rest of the collection.

In the box list, those subject folders from which restricted materials have been removed are marked with an asterisk (*). In addition, dummies have been placed in those folder explaining the nature and quantity of the restricted materials removed. Sealed boxes (containing only restricted materials) are indicated with a number sign (#).