Elements Available for Describing Series, File Units, and Items

(* denote Mandatory elements.)
(Additional elements are available to describe audiovisual items.)

Series	File Unit	Item
Title*	Title*	Title*
Other Title	Other Title	Other Title
		Subtitle
Arrangement	Arrangement
Custodial History Note	Custodial History Note	Custodial History Note
Date Note	Date Note	Date Note
Finding Aid Type	Finding Aid Type
Finding Aid Note	Finding Aid Note
Finding Aid Source	Finding Aid Source
Function and Use* 1
General Note	General Note	General Note
Microform Publication Identifier	Microform Publication Identifier	Microform Publication Identifier
Microform Publication Title	Microform Publication Title	Microform Publication Title
Microform Publication Note	Microform Publication Note	Microform Publication Note
Numbering Note
Scale Note	Scale Note	Scale Note
Scope and Content Note	Scope and Content Note	Scope and Content Note
Staff Only Note	Staff Only Note	Staff Only Note
Transfer Note	Transfer Note	Transfer Note
Accession Number	Accession Number	Accession Number
Disposition Authority Number
Former Collection	Former Collection	Former Collection
Former Record Group	Former Record Group	Former Record Group
Internal Transfer Number	Internal Transfer Number	Internal Transfer Number
Records Center Transfer Number	Records Center Transfer Number	Records Center Transfer Number
Variant Control Number	Variant Control Number	Variant Control Number
Variant Control Number Type	Variant Control Number Type	Variant Control Number Type
Variant Control Number Note	Variant Control Number Note	Variant Control Number Note
		Copyright Date
		Copyright Date Qualifier
Dates of Records Start Date	Dates of Records Start Date	Dates of Records Start Date
Dates of Records Start Date Qualifier	Dates of Records Start Date Qualifier	Dates of Records Start Date Qualifier
Dates of Records End Date	Dates of Records End Date	Dates of Records End Date
Dates of Records End Date Qualifier	Dates of Records End Date Qualifier	Dates of Records End Date Qualifier
Dates of Recordkeeping Start Date* 2
Dates of Recordkeeping Start Date Qualifier 2
Dates of Recordkeeping​ End Date* 2
Dates of Recordkeeping End Date Qualifier 2
		Production Date
		Production Date Qualifier
Begin Congress	Begin Congress	Begin Congress
End Congress	End Congress	End Congress
General Records Type*	General Records Type*	General Records Type*
Geographic Reference	Geographic Reference	Geographic Reference
Language	Language	Language
Organizational Contributor	Organizational Contributor	Organizational Contributor
Organizational Contributor Type	Organizational Contributor Type	Organizational Contributor Type
Organizational Reference	Organizational Reference	Organizational Reference
Party Designation	Party Designation	Party Designation
Personal Contributor	Personal Contributor	Personal Contributor
Personal Contributor Type	Personal Contributor Type	Personal Contributor Type
Personal Reference	Personal Reference	Personal Reference
Specific Records Type	Specific Records Type	Specific Records Type
Topical Subject Reference	Topical Subject Reference	Topical Subject Reference
Access Restriction Status* 3	Access Restriction Status* 3	Access Restriction Status* 3
Specific Access Restrictions 3	Specific Access Restrictions 3	Specific Access Restrictions 3
Security Classification 3	Security Classification 3	Security Classification 3
Access Restriction Note	Access Restriction Note	Access Restriction Note
Use Restriction Status* 3	Use Restriction Status* 3	Use Restriction Status* 3
Specific Use Restriction 3	Specific Use Restriction 3	Specific Use Restriction 3
Use Restriction Note	Use Restriction Note	Use Restriction Note
Creating Individual* 4
Creating Individual Type* 4
Creating Organization* 4
Creating Organization Type* 4
Description Author	Description Author	Description Author
Description Date	Description Date	Description Date
Description Type*	Description Type*	Description Type*
Copy Status*	Copy Status*	Copy Status*
Container List
Extent*	Extent	Extent
GPRA Indicator*
Holdings Measurement Type*
Holdings Measurement Count*
Location Facility*	Location Facility*	Location Facility*
Location Note	Location Note	Location Note
Physical Occurrence Note	Physical Occurrence Note	Physical Occurrence Note
Reference Unit*	Reference Unit*	Reference Unit*
Specific Media Type*	Specific Media Type*	Specific Media Type*
		Base
Color	Color	Color
Container ID	Container ID	Container ID
Dimension	Dimension	Dimension
		Emulsion
Height	Height	Height
Width	Width	Width
Depth	Depth	Depth
Media Occurrence Note	Media Occurrence Note	Media Occurrence Note
Physical Restriction Note	Physical Restriction Note	Physical Restriction Note
Piece Count	Piece Count	Piece Count
Process	Process	Process
Reproduction Count	Reproduction Count	Reproduction Count
Technical Access Requirements Note	Technical Access Requirements Note	Technical Access Requirements Note

NOTES:

¹ Function and Use is mandatory for newly created descriptions of organizational records, but not for descriptions of personal papers or legacy descriptions.

² The Dates of Recordkeeping Dates for the File Unit and Item descriptions are inherited down from the Series descriptions.

³ If a Restriction Status of "Restricted - Fully" or "Restricted - Partly" is selected, then the Specific Restriction becomes mandatory. If a Specific Access Restriction of "FOIA (b)(1) National Security", "Donated - Security Classified", or "Security Classified - Mandatory Review" is selected, then the Security Classification also becomes mandatory.

⁴ A creator and creator type is mandatory. The creator can either be a creating individual or a creating organization. Creators for the File Unit and Item descriptions are inherited down from the Series descriptions.