OCTO GIS serves as the central repository data for all published District data and provides web and CD/DVD distribution services. The DC Office of Planning (OP) also provides data at low cost and provides CD data distribution and hard copy mapping services.

Consistent with the District of Columbia Official Code (2001 Edition, Division I. Government of District. Title 2. Government Administration. Chapter 5. Adminstrative Procedure. Subchapter II. Freedom of Information), DC GIS shall normally make digital data available to all District and Federal agencies and the public at large at no cost, subject to security, confidentiality, and licensing restrictions. When substantial costs are incurred, agencies may charge fees up to the amount of those costs. This policy sets up three levels of data distributions:

• Public:  Data that is made available to everyone.
• Government:  Data that is made available only to other District agencies and cooperating Federal and regional governments. Metadata distribution may also be limited to government, but by default is shared with the public.
• Restricted:  Data that is restricted for security or confidentiality reasons.  Restricted data is handled on a case-by-case base. Metadata for these datasets may also be restricted on a case-by-case basis.