What happens to classified documents at the end of their retention period?

At the end of their retention period, classified documents must be reviewed for potential declassification or destruction. This process is essential to ensure that sensitive information does not remain classified longer than necessary and to assess whether it can be made available to the public or needs to be securely destroyed. The review process typically involves evaluating the content of the documents against current relevance, potential risks, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations governing classified information. This careful reassessment helps protect national security while also considering transparency and the preservation of historical records, ensuring a balance between safeguarding sensitive data and facilitating access to information.

The other options do not align with established protocols: automatic declassification without a review process, indefinite archiving without reassessment, or discarding documents without any evaluation is not in line with the best practices for handling classified information.