A new presidential executive order will lead to a change in the treatment of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).  Under the new policy, unclassified information that requires special safeguarding or controls on its dissemination will be categorized and marked in a uniform way across all agencies.  According to the order, the need for a uniform policy stems from the many different agency-specific, often confusing, policies and procedures that currently exist.  It described this situation as one that results “in inconsistent marking and safeguarding of documents” that produces “unclear or unnecessarily restrictive dissemination policies.”  The order states that this often inhibits information sharing and is not transparent to the public.  It sets a timeline for development and implementation of the new policy.  Within 180 days, each agency will conduct a review of all categories, subcategories, and markings it uses to designate unclassified information.  Agencies will then submit the results of this review to the National Archives and Records Administration, which will act as Executive Agent.  The Executive Agent will evaluate the agency’s submissions and develop a standard set of categories, subcategories, and markings to be applied by all agencies.  Before final implementation, the Executive Agent will issue directives that lay out the policies and procedures to be used to categorize and mark all CUI.  Within one year, the Executive Agent is required to set up and maintain a CUI registry, available to the public, which identifies the authorized categorization as well as the procedures for safeguarding CUI and controlling its dissemination.