Washington National Records Center
The Washington National Records Center (WNRC) in Suitland, Maryland stores and references records of Federal agencies located in the Districts Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.[1]
Records are transferred to WNRC when they are no longer needed by the respective agencies, including the records of the Federal Courts in Columbia and the Armed Forces.
Agency records stay at the WNRC, where they are tracked through an automated database, until they are either destroyed through recycling or accepted by NARA as permanent records. Access to most records stored at the facility is controlled by the agency of origin, however court records are open to the public.
The WNRC encompasses approximately 789,000 square feet of space and has a capacity to hold over 3.9 million cubic feet of Federal records. Security systems, and fire suppression systems protect the records in the Center.[2] Upon arrival, visitors to the Center must go through security, sign in, and present photo identification at the guard's station in the entrance lobby.
In 2007 the WNRC opened a new Electronic Records Vault. The 976 square-foot vault allow Federal Records Centers to store and service temporary electronic records for Federal agencies.[3]