U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
Other State Department Archive SitesU.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State
Home Issues & Press Travel & Business Countries Youth & Education Careers About State Video

About state.gov

Bureau of Public Affairs
December 20, 2007

The www.state.gov website serves as the State Department’s portal of information on U.S. foreign policy and information about the State Department. It is managed by the Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs.

The current State Department website covers the Administrations of President George W. Bush since he first took office on January 19, 2001. The www.state.gov archive site provides content available online prior to that date. The archive site is not updated, and external links may no longer function; it provides publications and information from the State Department for archive and research purposes.

A few State Department bureaus/offices have websites that are maintained separately from the www.state.gov portal site managed by the Office of Electronic Information. Nonetheless, the www.state.gov website search results include those sites, and PA/EI coordinates release of information on those websites to ensure that it is linked with the main www.state.gov site.

The following sites are not included in the “What’s New” listing in www.state.gov:

-- travel.state.gov (information on travel abroad)
-- careers.state.gov (State Department careers)
-- exchanges.state.gov (educational and cultural exchanges)
-- future.state.gov (student site)
-- pmddtc.state.gov (Defense Trade Controls)
-- statebuy.state.gov (procurement information)
-- aiep.state.gov (Art in Embassies program)

Websites of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other posts abroad (listed at http://usembassy.state.gov ) are managed by those posts.

Privacy Notice
For site management, usage information is collected for statistical purposes. The State Department website uses software programs to create summary statistics for such purposes as assessing what information is of most and least interest or identifying system performance or problem areas. The following is the type of information collected about your visit to the web site: the name of the Internet domain from which you access State Department websites and the date and time that you access the site. If you choose to provide us with personal information in an email message, we use it only to respond to your email.

For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the State Department uses software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and subject to prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and Title 18 U.S.C. Sec.1001 and 1030. Information also may be used for authorized law enforcement investigations.

Except for the above purposes, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

External Linking Policy
The www.state.gov website contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. Such links should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

Criteria. State Department officers continually review the external links for their ongoing value to the issues and topics presented within State Department websites. The process for adding an external link is the same as for clearing information for public dissemination, as described in the State Department’s Information Quality Guidelines:

“Clearances on information for dissemination generally are obtained from any office within the Department or any other agency within the U.S. Government that has a substantive interest in the information. “

Disclaimer. The State Department provides external links solely for our readers' information and convenience. When readers select a link to an external website, they are leaving the www.state.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external website. The State Department:

  • Does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
  • Does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites or the views they express or the products/services they offer.
  • Cannot and does not authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website. NOTE: www.state.gov uses many copyrighted photos so users must check captions/ALT tags to determine source of photos. Only State Department photos are in the public domain.
  • Is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.
  • Does not guarantee that external websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Every effort has been made to provide accurate and complete information. However, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. Neither the U.S. Government or the State Department assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein, or represents that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.

Information Quality Guidelines
Please read the State Department's guidelines pursuant to the Data Quality Information Act before submitting inquiries under this Act.

Copyright Information
Links to State Department sites are welcomed. Unless a copyright is indicated, information on the State Department’s main website is in the public domain and may be copied and distributed without permission. Citation of the U.S. State Department as source of the information is appreciated.

If a copyright is indicated on a photo, graphic, or other material, permission to copy these materials must be obtained from the original source. For photos without captions or with only partial captions, hold your cursor over the photo to view the "alt tag" for any copyright information. Please note that many photos used on this website are copyrighted.

If you would like verification or a hard copy of information released on State Department websites or if you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please contact the public information staff in the Bureau of Public Affairs.

Public Communication Division
PA/PL, Room 2206
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
Phone: (202) 647-6575
Email through: http://contact-us.state.gov/

Use of U.S. State Department Seal (the U.S. Great Seal) and Other Official Insignia
U.S. State Department seals (the U.S. Great Seal), logos and other official insignia may not be used or reproduced without written permission. Use of the Great Seal of the United States is governed by Public Law 91-651, Title 18 of the United States Code. This is a criminal statute with penal provisions, prohibiting certain uses of the Great Seal that would convey or reasonably be calculated to convey a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the Government of the United States or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof.

Although the Secretary of State is custodian of the Seal, the Department of State has no authority to grant or withhold permission for use of reproductions, facsimiles, or likenesses of the Seal, or any part thereof. It depends on the circumstances in each case whether the particular use of the Seal would be improper and, as such, it is a function of the Department of Justice to determine whether any particular use violates the Statute. Consequently, the Department of State's policy has been to discourage use of the Great Seal, except when used for governmental or educational purposes, and the Department does not provide artwork for its use other than for official State Department material. Contact us if you have any questions on use of the Great Seal or other official insignia.


  Back to top

U.S. Department of State
USA.govU.S. Department of StateUpdates  |  Frequent Questions  |  Contact Us  |  Email this Page  |  Subject Index  |  Search
The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.
About state.gov  |  Privacy Notice  |  FOIA  |  Copyright Information  |  Other U.S. Government Information