Citation Policy

Only primary sources are cited: the publication of the body that controls the fact. For the request process, that is the FBI. For authentication, the U.S. Department of State. For treaty status, the HCCH. For a destination's requirements, that destination's own authority. For law, the Code of Federal Regulations.

Citations are inline markers embedded in the sentence they support, resolved against a single registry of sources. The reference list at the foot of a page is generated from the markers actually present in that page's text.

Every source carries the date a human last opened it and confirmed the claims resting on it. Where the publisher blocks automated retrieval — fbi.gov and the Australian Department of Home Affairs both do — the source says so, because it bears on how the review was performed and how it can be repeated.