NATIONAL  SECURITY  COUNCIL  INTELLIGENCE 
DIRECTIVE  NO.   31 
COORDINATION  Ot:   INTELLIGENCE  PRODUCTION 
(Effective  21  April  1950) 
For  the  purpose  of  coordinating  the  intelligence  production  activities 
of  the  several  Government  departments  and  agencies  in  Ihc  interest  of 
national  security  cmd  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  Section  102  of  the 
National  "comity  Act  of  IfKV.  as  amended,  the  National  .Vceurity  Council 
hereby  authorb.es  and  directs  that  the  following  over-all  policies,  objec- 
tives, categories  of  intelligence  and  allocations  of  responsibility  be  estab- 
lished: 
1.  Basic  Intelligence 
a.  Basic  intelligence  is  that  factual  intelligence  which  results  from 
the  collation  of  encyclopedic  information  of  a  fundamental  and  more 
or  less  permanent  nature  arid  which,  as  a  result  of  evaluation  and  in- 
terpretation, is  determined  to  be  the  best  available. 
b.  An  outline  of  all  basic  intelligence  required  by  the  Government 
shall  be  mamtained  by  ihc  Central  Intelligence  Agency  in  collabora- 
tion with  the  appropriate  departments  and  agencies.  Tin's  outline 
shall  be  brohen  cicv/n  info  chapters,  sections,  and  sub-sections  which 
shall  be  allocated  as  production  and  maintenance  responsibilities  to  the 
Central  Intelligence  Agency  ana/or  to  those  other  departments  or 
agencies  of  the  Government  which  arc  best  qualified  by  reason  of 
mission,  production  capability,  and  primary  interest  to  assume  the 
production  and  maintenance  rcsponsio'l  iters.  To  cn:n:rc.  the  produc- 
tion of  the  b-  -ie  intelligence  required  by  the  Government  and  the 
fullest  possible  use  of  current  departmental  and  agency  capabilities, 
changes  in  -the  outline  er  allocations  of  production  and  maintenance 
responsibilities  shall  be  imeafod  by  Par-cement  between  the  Director  of 
Central  Intelligence  and  the  departments  and  agencies  concerned. 
c.  Basic  intelligence  required  in  the  interest  of  national  security 
shall  be  compiled  and  continuously  maintained  in  National  Intelli- 
gence Surveys  to  cover  foreign  countries,  areas,  or  broad  special  sub- 
jects, in  accordance  with  NSC-approved  NIS  Standard  Inst.uctions 
and  :ntcidcp:irlmenlal-app:ovccl  amendments  thereto.  The  National. 
Intelligence  'Surveys  will  be  disseminated  in  zv.ch  form  as  shall  be 
determined  by  Ihc  Director  Oi  Central  Intelligence  in  consultation  with 
the  departments  and  agencies  concerned. 
d.  The  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  shall  bo  responsible  for  coor- 
dinating production  and  maintenance,  and  for  accomplishing  the  re- 
view, publication,  and  dissemination  of  these  National  Intelligence 
Surveys,  and  shall  make  such  requests  of  the  departments  and  agencies 
•This  Directive  supersedes  KSC1D  No.  3  of  1/12/13.
as  ft  re  necessary  for  proper  development  and  maintenance  of  the 
Surveys. 
c.  Departments  or  agencies  to  be  called  on  for  contributions  to  tin's 
underta)  ing  may  include  other  Mian  those  represented  permanently 
on  the  Intelligence  Advisory  Committee. 
2.  Current  Intelligence 
a.  Current  intelligence  is  that  intelligence  of  all  types  and  forms 
of  immediate  interest  which  is  usuallv  d;. '-.semi  mated  without  the  de- 
lays  incident  to  complete  evaluation  or  interpretation. 
b.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  and  the  several  departments 
and  agencies  shall  produce  and  disseminate  such  current  intelligence 
as  may  be  neeeesary  to  meet  their  own  internal  requirements.  Nor- 
mally, the  anient  intelligence  produced  hy  the  Centrcl  Intelligence 
Agency  is  produced  primarily  \o  meet  the  needs  of  the  President  and 
National  Security  Council;  in  addition  it  serves  the  common  needs  of 
the  interested  departments  and  agencies  of  the  Government  for  cur- 
rent intelligence  which  they  themselves  do  net  produce.  The  depart- 
ments and  pegencies  will  contribute  to  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency 
current  intelligence  publications  as  practicable. 
•     3.  Departmental  IntcllipcTicc  is  that  intelligence  which  any  depart- 
ment or  agency  requires  to  execute  its  own  mis  ion. 
4.  IntcrdcpirtmcrJcl  Intc!licc?:c:%  is  integrated  departmental  intelli- 
gence which  is  rcc.uircd  by  departments  and  agencies  of  the  Government 
for  the  execution  of  their  mls:icr;c  but  transcends  :he  competency  of  a 
single  department  or  agency  to  produce.  Joint  Intelligence  is  a  special 
category  of  intci departmental  intelligence  jointly  produced  by  the  Mili- 
•  tray  Departments  in  the  performance  of  the  assigned  minions  of  the 
Joint  Chiefs  of  S:.alT.  The  subcommittee  structure  of  the  JAC  may  bo 
utilised  for  the  production  end  dissemination  of  interdepartmental  in- 
telligence. 
5.  National  Intelligence  is  that  intelligence  which  is  remurcd  for  the 
formulation  cf  ji.ation.-il  security  policy,  coneems  more  than  one  depart- 
ment or  agency  and  transcends  rhe  c::clurivo  competence  cf  a  single 
department  or  agency.  The  production  of  national  intelligence  iz  cov- 
ered in  KSCID  vTo.  1.  Intelligence  relating  to  the  notional  seeur-ty  which 
has  been  produced  as  interdepartmental  or  departmental  intelligence 
may  aho,  when  appropriate,  be  submitted  through  the  Tntelligenee  Ad- 
visory Commiitee  for  ie-.-.aianc:  ay  national  ime!n;,cnce  by  the  Director  of 
Central  Inlellegertce  as  provided  in  MSCID  i\o.  1. 
6.  Each  department  or  agency,  taking  full  cognizance  of  the.  facilities 
of  the  other  agencies,  shall  maintain  adequate  research  facilities  to 
accomplish  its  departmental  intelligence  production  mission  and  to  pro- 
vide such  additional  intelligence  within  its  held  of  primary  responsi- 
bilities as  may  be  necessary  to  satisfy  ether  requirements  relating  to  the 
nations  I  security. 
7.  To  ensure  that  the  capabilities  of  the  departments  and  agencies  are 
utilized  effectively  for  the  production  of  intelligence  of  common  concern, 
the  following  division  of  interests,  subject  to  refinement  through  a  con-
tinuous  pro,u*.'-.:r.  /  coordm.-:.TJon  and  evaluation  by  the  Director  of  Cen- 
tral Intel! i;;'.nc-;  •/,  promcai  ^m  integration  of  effort  and  to  avoid  unde- 
sirable du piici.i. •..-.,  sliall  j.L-~"-"e  as  a  general  delineation  of  primary  re- 
sponsibilities: 
•  a.  The  De>-.;*.mcnt  c:'  £:atc  shall  produce  political  and  sociological 
intelligence  c:.  >J[  cour.::r--as,  and  economic  intelligence  on  countries 
outside  the  £".v,-Sovii:t  H._sc. 
b.  The  Departments  ::"  Army,  Navy  and  Air  Force  shall  produce 
array,  naval,  v_vl  air  inr-i-l'rencc,  respectively.  Tin's  production  shall 
include  sciem./.e,  tccl'mma]  and  economic  intelligence  pertinent  to 
tlieir  depart rr.'.'.tal  mis.:.  :r_s. 
c.  The  Ccr.*..-<i  Inttli.i^r.cc  Agency  shall  produce  economic  intelli- 
gence en  the  ."V.ao-Scvic.  K'.oc  and  sck-miuc  mid  tmhuicai  inteil."  jence 
as  a  service  o.'  comrncr.   :onccrn.     Further,  the  Central  Intelligence 
Agency  may  adduce  su;h  other  intelligence  as  may  be  necessary  to  % 
discharge   the  statutory   responsibilities   of  the   Director  of   Central 
Intelligence. 
d.  The  prcc'-;ction  of  intelligence  on  atomic  energy  is  a  rcsponsi-  ' 
bility  of  all  do;,;.-rtmcnts  and  agencies  represented  on  the  Intelligence 
Advisory  Committee,   to   he  coordinated   through   the  Joint  Alcmic 
Energy  l'nt:!;iv:.nce  Committee  structure. 
8.  Despite  the  above  mentioned  allocations  of  primary  production 
responsibilities,  there  will  be  areas  of  common  or  overlapping  interest 
which  will  rcx'pm--;  continuing  inter-agency  linison  and  cooperation.  In 
the  event  that  a  requirement  for  intelligence  is  established  for  which 
there  is  no  existing  production  capability,  the  Director  of  Central  In- 
telligence, in  eomrultatien  with  the  intvliigence  Advisory  Committee, 
shall  determine  which  of  the  depart  men '.3  and  agencies  of  the  intelli- 
gence community  can  best  undertake  the  primary  responsibility  as  a 
service  of  common  concern.
NATIONAL  SECURITY  COUNCIL  INTELLIGENCE 
DIRECTIVE  NO. 31 
COORDINATION  OF  INTELLIGENCE  PRODUCTION 
(Effective  21  April  1958) 
For  the  purpose  of  coordinating  the  intelligence  production  activities 
of  the  several  Government  departments  and  agencies  in  the  interest  of 
national  security  and  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  Section  102  of  the 
National  Security  Act  of  1947,  as  amended,  the  National  Security  Council 
hereby  authorizes  and  directs  that  the  following  over-all  policies,  objec- 
tives, categories  of  intelligence  and  allocations  of  responsibility  be  estab- 
lished: 
1.  Basic  Intelligence: 
a.  Basic  intelligence  is  that  factu-1  intelligence  which  results  from 
the  collation  of  encyclopedic  information  of  a  fundamental  and  more 
or  less  permanent  nature  and  which,  as  a  result  of  evaluation  and  in- 
terpretation, is  determined  to  be  the  best  available. 
b.  An  outline  of  all  basic  intelligence  required  by  the  government 
shall  be  maintained  by  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency  in  collabora- 
tion with  the  appropriate  departments  and  agencies.   This  outline 
shall  be  broken  down  into  chapter,  section,  and  sub-sections  which 
shall  be  allocated  as  production  and  maintenance  responsibilities  to  the 
Central  Intelligence  Agency  and/or  to  those  other  departments  or 
agencies  of  the  Government  which  are  best  qualified  by  reason  of 
mission,  production,  capability,  and  primary  interest  to  assume  the 
production  and  maintenance  responsibilities.   To  ensure  the  produc- 
tion of  the  basic  intelligence  required  by  the  government  and  the 
fullest  possible  use  of  current  departmental  and  agency  capabilities, 
changes  in  the  outline  or  allocations  of  production  and  maintenance 
responsibilities  shall  be  effected  by  agreement  between  the  Director  of 
Central  Intelligence  and  the  departments  and  agencies  concerned. 
c.  Basic  intelligence  required  in  the  interest  of  national  security 
shall  be  compiled  and  continuously  maintained  in  National  Intelli- 
gence Surveys  to  cover  foreign  countries,  areas,  or  broad  special  sub- 
jects, in  accordance  with  NSC-approved  NIS  Standard  Instructions 
and  interdepartmental -approved  amendments  thereto.   The  National 
Intelligence  Surveys  will  be  disseminated  in  such  form  as  shall  be 
determined  by  the  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  in  consultation  with 
the  departments  and  agencies  concerned. 
d.  The  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  shall  be  responsible  for  coor- 
dinating production  and  maintenance,  and  for  accomplishing  the  re- 
view, publication,  and  dissemination  of  these  National  Intelligence 
Surveys,  and  shall  make  such  requests  of  the  departments  and  agencies 
1  This  Directive  supersedes  NSCID  No. 3  of  1/13/48.
(Page  Six) 
as  are  necessary  for  proper  development  and  maintenance  of  the 
Surveys. 
e.  Departments  or  agencies  to  be  called  on  for  contribution  to  this 
undertaking  may  include  other  than  those  represented  permanently 
on  the  Intelligence  Advisory  Committee. 
2.  Current  Intelligence 
a.  Current  intelligence  is  that  intelligence  of  all  types  and  forms 
of  immediate  interest  which  is  usually  disseminated  without  the  de- 
lays incident  to  complete  evaluation  or  interpretation. 
b.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  and  the  several  departments 
and  agencies  shall  produce  and  disseminate  such  current  intelligence 
as  may  be  necessary  to  meet  their  own  internal  requirements.   Nor- 
mally, the  current  intelligence  produced  by  the  Central  Intelligence 
Agency  is  produced  primarily  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  President  and 
National  Security  Council;  in  addition  it  serves  the  common  needs  of 
the  interested  departments  and  agencies  of  the  Government  for  cur- 
rent intelligence  which  they  themselves  do  not  produce.   The  depart- 
ments and  agencies  will  contribute  to  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency 
current  intelligence  publications  as  practicable. 
3.  Departmental   Intelligence   is  that  intelligence  which  any  depart- 
ment or  agency  requires  to  execute  its  own  mission. 
4.  Interdepartmental  Intelligence   is  integrated  departmental  intelli- 
gence which  is  required  by  departments  and  agencies  of  the  Government 
for  the  execution  of  their  missions  but  transcends  the  competency  of  a 
single  department  or  agency  to  produce.   Joint  Intelligence  is  a  special 
category  of  interdepartmental  intelligence  jointly  produced  by  the  Mili- 
tary Departments  in  the  performance  of  the  assigned  missions  of  the 
Joint  Chiefs  of  Staff.   The  subcommittee  structure  of  the  I AC  may  be 
utilized  for  the  production  and  dissemination  of  interdepartmental  in- 
telligence. 
5.  National   Intelligence   is  that  intelligence  which  is  required  for  the 
formulation  of  national  security  policy,  concerns  more  than  one  depart- 
ment or  agency  and  transcends  the  exclusive  competence  of  a  single 
department  or  agency.  The  production  of  national  intelligence  is  cov- 
ered in  NSCID  No.  1.   Intelligence  relating  to  the  national  security  which 
has  been  produced  as  interdepartmental  of  departmental  intelligence 
may  also,  when  appropriate,  be  submitted  through  the  Intelligence  Ad- 
visory Committee  for  issuance  as  national  intelligence  by  the  Director  of 
Central  Intelligence  as  provided  in  NSCID  No.  1. 
6.  Each  department  or  agency,  taking  full  cognizance  of  the  facilities 
of  the  other  agencies,  shall  maintain  adequate  research  facilities  to 
accomplish  its  departmental  intelligence  production  mission  and  to  pro- 
vide such  additional  intelligence  within  its  field  of  primary  responsi- 
blities  s  may  be  necessary  to  satisfy  other  requirements  relating  to  the 
national  security. 
7.  To  ensure  that  the  capabilities  of  the  departments  and  agencies  are 
utilized  effectively  for  the  production  of  intelligence  of  common  concern, 
the  following  division  of  interest,  subject  to  refinement  through  a  con-
(Page  Seven) 
tinuous  program  of  coordination  and  evaluation  by  the  Director  of  Cen- 
tral Intelligence  to  promote  an  integration  of  effort  and  to  avoid  unde- 
sirable duplication,  shall  serve  as  a  general  delineation  of  primary  re- 
sponsibilities : 
a.  The  Department  of  State  shall  produce  political  and  sociological 
intelligence  on  all  countries,  and  economic  intelligence  on  countries 
outside  the  Sino-Soviet  Bloc. 
b.  The  Department  of  Army,  Navy  and  Air  Force  shall  produce 
army,  naval  and  air  intelligence,  respectively.   This  production  shall 
include  scientific,  technical  and  economic  intelligence  pertinent  to 
their  departmental  missions. 
c.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  shall  produce  economic  intelli- 
gence on  the  Sino-Soviet  Bloc  and  scientific  and  technical  intelligence 
as  a  service  of  common  concern.   Further,  the  Central  Intelligence 
Agency  may  produce  such  other  intelligence  as  may  be  necessary  to 
discharge  the  statutory  responsibilities  of  the  Director  of  Central 
Intelligence. 
d.  The  production  of  intelligence  on  atomic  energy  is  a  responsi- 
bility of  all  departments  and  agencies  represented  on  the  Intelligence 
Advisory  Committee,  to  be  coordinated  through  the  Joint  Atomic 
Energy  Intelligence  Committee  structure. 
8.  Despite  the  above  mentioned  allocations  of  primary  production 
responsibilities,  there  will  be  areas  of  common  or  overlapping  interest 
which  will  require  continuing  inter-agency  liaison  and  cooperation.   In 
the  event  that  a  requirement  for  intelligence  is  established  for  which 
there  is  no  existing  production  capability,  the  Director  of  Central  In- 
telligence, in  consultation  with  the  Intelligence  Advisory  Committee, 
shall  determine  which  of  the  departments  and  agencies  of  the  intelli- 
gence community  can  best  undertake  the  primary  responsibility  as  a 
service  of  common  concern.