Tear line

Definition
A tear line is

"the place on an intelligence report (usually denoted by a series of dashes) at which the sanitized version of a more highly classified and/or controlled report begins. The sanitized information below the tear line should contain the substance of the information above the tear line, but without identifying the sensitive sources and methods. This will permit wider dissemination, in accordance with the need-to-know principle and foreign disclosure guidelines, of the information below the tear line. Director of Central Intelligence Directive 17, ¶3.5 (June 15, 1996) (full-text)."