UFO and UAP Files: Where to Find Official Records

Quick answer

Start with NARA's UFO/UAP research guide and its Record Group 615 directory for archival files; use AARO's imagery index for official video releases and accompanying assessments. These are different collections, not one complete file of everything known about UFOs. Public release establishes access and provenance, not an extraterrestrial explanation.

NARA and Record Group 615

NARA's topic guide separates photographs, moving images, sound recordings and written records. Its RG 615 page groups transferred UAP records by contributing federal agency and links to catalog descriptions and available digital copies. Open the agency's series before choosing an item: the series explains the context in which a record was kept. NARA describes the collection as receiving further transfers on a rolling basis, so the directory is a starting point rather than a declaration that all government records are online.

Sources: UFO and UAP records at the National Archives · Record Group 615: UAP Records Collection · UAP Records Collection: frequently asked questions

Older UFO records are not confined to RG 615

NARA's textual and microfilm guide also lists older holdings, including Project Blue Book administrative and case-file series under RG 341. The document image on this page is page 15 of catalog item 40027753, presented as an example of an archival record. It is not a photograph of a UFO. When researching an older event, search the historical collection as well as RG 615 and note whether you are reading a witness statement, correspondence, a press clipping or an investigator's assessment.

Sources: UFO and UAP records: textual and microfilm

Pentagon files and official video releases

For video material, AARO's imagery index links official recordings to written case descriptions. The 27 April 2020 Defense Department statement is a separate record: it authorized three Navy videos, one recorded in November 2004 and two in January 2015, after earlier unauthorized circulation. Read the statement for what was released and the individual case assessment for what was identified. A formal release can authenticate the military provenance of footage without confirming every interpretation of its motion or shape.

Sources: Official UAP imagery and case assessments · Statement on the release of historical Navy videos, 27 April 2020

Which date does a file describe?

Keep four dates separate when available: observation, report creation, authorized public release and upload to the current website. For example, DVIDS posted its FLIR entry on 19 March 2025, while the 2020 release statement places that recording in November 2004. A recent web upload therefore need not describe a recent sighting or a newly disclosed video. If a headline says files were released today, follow it to the dated original release before repeating that claim.

Sources: FLIR — official Navy video · Statement on the release of historical Navy videos, 27 April 2020

What a public record can establish

Read a witness account as an account, an agency assessment as that agency's conclusion, and a newspaper clipping as reporting. A document can be authentic while containing an unverified claim. NASA's UAP FAQ emphasizes that limited observations can prevent scientific conclusions; it does not treat missing identification as evidence of alien technology. Preserve the uncertainties, missing data and stated confidence when summarizing a file. Several websites reproducing the same document do not supply independent confirmation.

Sources: UAP FAQs: terminology, evidence and the 2023 study