I'm a US Government Contractor - How Do I Store Classified Documents & Materials?

In every business situation there is a requirement to store your business related classified documents & materials. In most cases you will find most people just hide things in the back of their desk or at the back of a filing cabinet. As a US government contractor you may not be aware that there are certain procedures that you must follow - you are required to store your classified documents in a GSA Approved Security Container.

GSA Approved Security Containers are built to withstand attack. There are two safe classifications - Class 5 & Class 6 safes. Class 6 safes are widely used for the storage of documents. Class 6 safes are built & tested to withstand 30 minutes of covert entry & 20 hours of surreptitious entry. A class 5 safe can also withstand 10 minutes of forced entry. Class 5 safes are often used for storing classified materials such as weapons, drugs, money & precious gems. You will know if the container is GSA Approved as it will have a manufacturers GSA label on it.

If your materials are classified then your GSA Approved Security Container must have an approved safe lock such as an X-09 lock on it. The lock must conform to federal specification FF-L-2740A.

Class 5 & Class 6 safes come in many different styles & sizes depending on what you need to store. For example if you need to store classified documents & you only have small amount of classified documents then a class 6, 2 drawer safe with a single lock might be all that you need. If you need to store weapons then you may need a Class 5 Map & Plan / weapons container with a rifle cart.

Below is a list of the most widely used GSA Safes:

Class 5 safes

• 2 drawer, legal size with either a single or multi X-09 locks
• 4 drawer, legal size with either a single or multi X-09 locks
• General Purpose Container, available in size 2 or 4
• Map & Plan Safe, size 1
• IPS - Comsec safes, available with single or double doors

Class 6 safes

• 2 drawer, legal size with either a single or multi X-09 locks
• 4 drawer, legal size with either single or multi X-09 locks
• 5 drawer, legal size with either single or multi X-09 locks
• Special Size Safes, 1 or 2 drawers with a single X-09 lock
• Map & Plan Safe, Size 1
• Field safe, single or dual lock

Charles Cullens

Federal Lock and Safes the GSA Container Specialists.

Arlington Virginia

Check out our site by clicking one of the below links.

GSA Container Supplier

Class 5 Safes