You can identify the separation of Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) from regular (collateral) classified information by looking at the special control markings that show the compartment(s) the information belongs to.

Core idea

SCI is still classified (e.g., Secret or Top Secret), but it is placed in special “compartments” and must be marked to show that. Those compartment markings are what separate SCI material from collateral classified material.

How the separation is identified

  • Control / caveat markings:
    • SCI documents include compartment or control markings such as “SCI” or specific codewords/abbreviations (e.g., indicators like signals intelligence or similar caveats) in addition to the normal classification level.
* Collateral classified documents (Confidential, Secret, Top Secret) do **not** have SCI compartment markings; they show only the classification level.
  • Marking format on documents:
    • An SCI document might look like: “TOP SECRET//[SCI compartment(s)]” in its banner or portion markings.
* A collateral document might simply say: “SECRET” or “TOP SECRET” with no SCI caveats.
  • Authoritative training guidance:
    • Official training materials on SCI and SCIFs explain that SCI markings (caveats) “identify the specific compartment or compartments with which the material is affiliated” and that these caveats “define the separation of SCI classified material from collateral classified material.”

Simple answer to the question

So, to match the way this question appears in training and test banks:

  • The separation of SCI classified material from collateral classified material is identified by markings that identify the compartment with which it is affiliated.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.