The exemptions, in the agency’s own vocabulary

Every withholding is recorded against the specific exemption claimed, so a reader can see not just that something was cut but the legal theory used to cut it. State analogues are recorded against their own citation and never normalised into this list — pretending a state exception is a b(5) would be exactly the kind of quiet upgrade the house standard forbids.

• b(1)National security — Properly classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.
• b(2)Internal personnel rules — Related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.
• b(3)Withheld by statute — Specifically exempted from disclosure by another statute, which must be cited.
• b(4)Trade secrets — Trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.
• b(5)Deliberative process — Inter- and intra-agency memoranda: deliberative process, attorney work product, attorney-client.
• b(6)Personal privacy — Personnel, medical and similar files whose disclosure would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.
• b(7)(A)Enforcement proceedings — Law enforcement records whose release could reasonably be expected to interfere with proceedings.
• b(7)(C)Enforcement privacy — Law enforcement records whose release could constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
• b(7)(D)Confidential source — Records that could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source.
• b(7)(E)Techniques and procedures — Techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions.
• b(7)(F)Physical safety — Records that could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual.
• b(8)Financial institutions — Reports prepared for agencies regulating or supervising financial institutions.
• b(9)Wells — Geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.