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  1. Home
  2. Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines
  3. Category Classes

Category Classes

  • Last Updated: July 25, 2023
  • Published: November 12, 2021

Category classes are reserved for those types of publications most commonly issued by Federal agencies. Use the following numbers when establishing new classes.

Category classes most frequently used:

Example
.1 Annual reports 
.2 General publications
.8 Handbooks, manuals, and guides
.11 Maps and charts
.12 Posters

 

Category classes less frequently used:

Example
.3 Bulletins 
.4 Circulars
.5 Laws
.6 Regulations, rules, and instructions
.7 Press releases
.9 Bibliographies and list of publications
.10 Directories
.13 Forms
.14 Addresses

Most Frequently Used Category Classes

.1 - Annual reports

The Annual reports category is reserved for the annual report of the department, agency, bureau, or office as a whole. Do not include annual reports on projects or on specific subjects; these should have separate classes elsewhere:

Example:

C 46.1: Economic Development Administration Annual Report

Annual reports may be issued by subordinate offices for which classification numbers have not been assigned. In that case, a new class should be established using the .1 reserved class for the parent agency:

Example
I 1.1: Department of the Interior Annual Report on Performance and Accountability
I 1.1/9: Department of the Interior, Office of Financial Management, Agency Financial Report (annual)

.2 - General publications

The General publications category includes unnumbered publications of a miscellaneous nature. The publications are typically one-time publications that do not fit into any established series or into any of the other categories, and there is no indication that the publications will be issued on a regular basis.

Example:

HH 1.2:H 86/2       HUD at 50: Creating Pathways to Opportunity 

The General Publications category should be the last consideration for a publication, rather than the starting point for determining a class number.

.8 - Handbooks, manuals, and guides

Handbooks, manuals, and guides differ from regulations, rules, and instructions in that they do not have the force of law. They may include helpful information on any subject:

Example:

A 110.8:K 64      Kitchen Companion: Your Safe Food Handbook 

To qualify for the Handbooks, manuals, and guides category, the words ‘handbook’, ‘manual’, ‘guide’, or ‘how to’ are generally part of the document title.

Historically, these publications were included in the Regulations, rules, and instructions class. Beginning in the 1950s, new classes were established and handbooks, manuals, and guides were no longer included in the Regulations, rules, and instructions class. 

A basic manual or other publication may be issued infrequently, but if the publication has continuing transmittals, revised plates, or frequent change sheets, the manual should have a separate class. This class should be established when a new edition of such a publication is received for classifying. When the issuing agency changes before a new basic manual is issued, do not reclass the changes. 

A manual which was formerly printed and distributed in paper may now be online only, and updates may be made continuously as needed. In those cases, the manual is catalogued and classified as a continuing resource. See Continuing Resources for more detailed guidance.

.11 - Maps and Charts

The Maps and Charts category is for cartographic materials, e.g. those that represent a planetary surface in a two-dimensional form.

Example:

I 53.11:AR 4 I/4/2016       Arizona Strip visitor map

See the article on Cartographic Resources for more detailed classification guidance.

.12 - Posters

A poster is a single sheet with material printed on one side only. It may include photographs and announcements and is usually intended to be hung for display.

Less Frequent Category Classes

The following category classes are used infrequently or found on older publications.

.3 - Bulletins

Bulletins are usually named and numbered by the offices issuing them. Assign this class only if the word 'Bulletin' appears on the title page, cover, etc.

.4 - Circulars

Circulars are usually numbered by the offices issuing them. Assign this class only if the word 'Circular' appears on the title page, cover, etc.

.5 - Laws

The Laws category is reserved for publications which contain the text of Federal law that is administered by the agencies issuing the publications. A publication which explains only parts of law or discusses the contents of laws should not be included in the Laws class; those publications may be classified as regulations under the law (Regulations, rules, and instructions class) or as guides to understanding a law (Handbooks, manuals, and guides class). An overall description of a law or a compilation of laws may be classified under General publications (.2).

.6 - Regulations, rules, and instructions

The Regulations, rules, and instructions category contains information on agency requirements which have the force of law. The information may refer to the operation of an agency or to outside activities under an agency’s jurisdiction. There is no separate category class for decisions and orders; those should be assigned their own separate classes. Some decisions and orders were previously classed with Regulations, rules, and instructions, and with laws.

.7 - Press releases

The Press releases category includes agency announcements issued for news media. The publications may or may not have the word release or news on them. Press interviews, statements to the press, and news conferences with reporters should be included in the Press releases class, together with the usual releases on various subjects.

Speeches, remarks, and addresses given before audiences are often issued as news releases; these should be classified individually in the Addresses class (.14) for the agencies releasing the information.

.9 - Bibliographies and Lists of Publications

The Bibliographies and Lists of Publications category includes all bibliographies without regard to subject or coverage, as well as lists of publications issued by an agency or bureau. Annual or other periodic lists of publications with consistent titles should be classed in separate classes and not be included in a category class.

.10 - Directories

The Directories category is restricted to those publications that include the word 'directory' in the title.

.13 - Forms

The Forms category is reserved for publications that contain forms or instructions on how to complete forms. If the publications include other textual material also, they should be classed somewhere else, most likely in General publications. Do not use the Forms class when the publication includes other textual material, even if a form number is printed on the title page. Before this category class was established in the latter part of 1985, forms were treated differently. The department, bureau letters, and numbers were assigned in the regular manner, and were followed by the word ‘form’, a colon, the identification numbers and/or letters printed on the form. When classifying revisions or new editions of these forms, follow current practice.

.14 - Addresses

The Addresses category includes addresses, lectures, speeches, remarks, statements, papers, etc., which were delivered before groups of people. This category may have different titles in classes for different agencies, but the content of the category is the same, regardless of the title. Though addresses may be issued as news releases, they are classified as Addresses, not as press releases. However, do not include statements to the press, press conferences, or interviews in the Addresses class.

 

Classification Guidelines

  • Introduction to the Classification Guidelines
  • The Classification System: A Brief History
  • Structure of the Classification Number
    • Sorting in SuDocs Order
      • Example of a SuDocs Sort
  • Class Stems
    • Letter Author Symbols
    • New Agency Classes
    • Joint Publications from Different Agencies
    • Publications Prepared by One Agency for Another
    • Serials with Changing Publishers
    • Joint Publications Issued in Series
    • Subordinate Offices
      • First and Second Levels
      • Assignment of Classes 
      • Third and Fourth Levels
      • Joint Publications from Different Subagencies
      • Name Changes and Reorganizations
  • Category Classes
    • Most Frequently Used Category Classes
      • .1 - Annual reports
      • .2 - General publications
      • .8 - Handbooks, manuals, and guides
      • .11 - Maps and Charts
      • .12 - Posters
    • Less Frequent Category Classes
      • .3 - Bulletins
      • .4 - Circulars
      • .5 - Laws
      • .6 - Regulations, rules, and instructions
      • .7 - Press releases
      • .9 - Bibliographies and Lists of Publications
      • .10 - Directories
      • .13 - Forms
      • .14 - Addresses
  • Cutter Numbers
    • Cutter Table and Its Use
      • Filing Order for Cutter Numbers
      • Slash Numbers
      • Selecting Cutter Words
      • Words to Avoid when Cuttering
      • Sets With a Collective Title
      • Foreign Language Editions
      • Numbers in Titles
      • Cuttering Acronyms and Initialisms
    • Cuttering: Geographic Topics  
      • Cuttering Related Documents Covering the Same Subject but Different Geographic Area
      • General Subjects and Geographic Terms
      • Cuttering Geographic Terms Using Personal Names
      • Maps
      • Cuttering Multi-Part Geographic Names
      • State Cutter Numbers
    • State Cutter Numbers
  • Additions to Book Numbers
    • Dates
      • Year Format
      • Dates for Revised Editions
      • Punctuation in Dates or Date Ranges
    • Volume, Part, Chapter, and Section Numbers
      • Volume Number and Date: Which Comes First?
    • Words and Abbreviations
      • Foreign-language Publications
    • Multiple Word Phrases in a Suffix
    • Multiple Versions of a Publication
      • Corrected Copies of Numbered Volumes
    • Standard Abbreviations and Words
    • State Abbreviations
  • Classes by Publication Type
    • Corrections
    • Errata
    • Preliminary, Initial, Draft, and Final Reports
    • Reprints
    • Preprints and Separates
    • Summaries and Executive Summaries
    • Electronic Products
    • Sets with Multiple Publication Types
  • Monographic Series
    • Identifying a Monographic Series
    • Assigning New Series Classes
      • Series Related to Existing Classes by Subject
    • Structure of the Series Class
    • Departmental Series vs. Bureau Series
    • Series Book Numbers
      • Series Numbering
      • Unusual Series Numbering
      • Series Numbering and Revised Editions
      • Numbering System Changes
      • Two Series on One Publication
      • Series Number versus Agency Control Number
    • Letters and Phrases Appearing on Publications
    • Volumes, Parts, or Sections
    • Publications Which Are Not Series or Serials
      • Multipart Monographs versus Series
      • Other Situations
  • Continuing Resources
    • Identifying a Continuing Resource
    • Serials
    • Integrating Resources
    • Assigning New Continuing Resource Classes
      • Works Related to Category Classes
      • Works Related to Existing Classes by Subject
      • New Classes to Reflect Changes for Existing Serials
      • Serials within Series: Separate Class Approach
      • Serials with a Constant Series Number
    • Cuttering a Serial or, When Not to Establish a New Class Stem for a Serial
      • Serials within Series: Cuttering Approach
      • Publications of Short Duration
      • Other cases for Cuttering
    • Serials Designation
      • Number 1 for First Month Appears Annually
      • Date incorporated in Series Number
      • Volume and Number
    • Date
      • Annual (and Less Frequent) Publications  
      • Semiannual Publications
      • Publications Issued Three or More Times a Year
      • Variations in Publication Cycles
      • Release Date vs. Coverage Date
    • Special Issues of Serials
      • Supplements
      • Indexes
    • Frequently Revised Monographs Cataloged as Serials
  • Presidential Publications
    • Presidential Committees and Commissions
    • Presidential Commissions vs Presidential Initiatives
    • Permanent Agencies Reporting to the President
    • Vice President of the United States
  • Congressional and Legislative Branch Publications
    • Y 4. - Congressional Committee Publications
      • Constructing the Committee Designation
      • Reorganized Committees and Name Changes
      • Joint Hearings
      • Publications Prepared by One Committee for the Use of Another
      • Individual Book Numbers
    • Y 1.-: - Congress as a Whole, House and Senate as a Whole
      • Individual Book Numbers
      • House and Senate Documents and Reports
      • Y 1.1/2: - U. S. Congressional Serial Set
      • Y 1.2/5: - United States Code
    • Boards, Commissions, and Independent or Temporary Committees Established by Congress
      • Boards, Commissions, and Committees Established within the Executive Branch
      • Y 3. Boards and Commissions Outside the Executive Branch
    • Y 4.2: and Y 4.3: - Select and Special Committees (As Appointed)
    • Y 7.1: - Memorial Addresses
    • Y 9. - Speeches
    • Y 10: and Y 11: - Subordinate Offices
    • X 1.1: - Congressional Record
    • XJH: and XJS: - House and Senate Journals
    • Y and X General Issues
      • Serial Publications
      • Star Prints
      • Erratum/Errata
  • U.S. Participation in International Organizations
  • Cartographic Resources
    • Category Classes for Maps and Charts
    • General Rules
    • U.S. Geological Survey Maps
      • Coordinates
      • Map Reference Numbers
      • Northwest Quadrant 
      • Northeast Quadrant
      • Southwest Quadrant
      • Southeast Quadrant
      • Edition Date
    • Bureau of Land Management Maps
    • U.S. Forest Service Maps
      • Revision Dates
    • National Ocean Service Nautical Charts
    • Map Types
  • Classification Guidelines for Digital Reproductions
    •  Classification by Type of Digital Reproduction
  • Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines for Specific Publications and Classes
    • A 13.28: - Forest Service OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) Maps
    • AE 2.106/3: - Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
    • I 53.11: - Pacific Northwest Recreation Map Series
    • S 1.1: - Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS)
    • SI 8. - National Gallery of Art
    • Y 1.1/3: - The Constitution of the United States of America: analysis and interpretation: annotations of cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to ...
    • Classing Publications in ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) Database

Classification Guidelines Resources

Catalog of U.S. Government
   Publications (CGP)

govinfo
List of Classes 
Lost Docs
U.S. Government Manual
WEBTech Notes
Webinars and Webcasts

Superseded Guidance 
GPO Classification Manual (1993)
An Explanation of the
   Superintendent of Documents
   Classification System
 (1990)

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Please submit your questions about the Superintendent of Documents Classification Guidelines via askGPO by choosing the “Federal Depository Library Program” tile and selecting the category “Cataloging/Metadata (Policy and Records).

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