Introduction

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (title 5 of the United States Code, at section 552) is a law enacted by Congress in 1966 which established a statutory right of access to information in the executive branch of the federal government. In its current form, FOIA provides members of the public with an avenue to obtain records, whether paper copies or electronic records, from various government agencies, including the FDIC (and the FDIC Office of Inspector General). FOIA permits agencies to withhold sensitive or privileged records or portion of records in accordance with certain statutory exemptions and exclusions, and to charge fees, depending on the which of the statutorily defined categories the requester belongs to and the circumstances of his/her request. Agencies are generally required to respond to properly formulated FOIA requests within 20 business days of receiving the request, although there are exceptions for records sought on an expedited basis if certain conditions are met; and agencies may extend the due date for responding, depending on the circumstances. Requesters have certain administrative and judicial appeal rights.

Many of the OIG's reports, starting with those published beginning in 1998, are available on this Web site (link to reports); there are no fees for obtaining records electronically. Hardcopies of various OIG documents are also available, generally for a fee, from the FDIC's Public Information Center at the following phone numbers and addresses:

FDIC Public Information Center -
801 17th Street, N.W., Room 100
Washington, D.C. 20434-0001
(877) 275-3342
(202) 416-2076 (FAX)
Internet Address: publicinfo@fdic.gov

The following FDIC OIG records have been deemed frequently requested records for purposes of FOIA, and can be obtained electronically (unless otherwise indicated) by clicking on the title of the report:

Filing FOIA requests

Various OIG records, including reports available on this site or from the Public Information Center (see above), may also be requested through the FDIC's electronic FOIA process.

To file an electronic FOIA request with the FDIC, select this link - http://www.fdic.gov/news/freedom/index.html. Further information and instructions will be provided to you at that site. FOIA requests may also be filed by mail, at the following address:

Before filing a FOIA request with the FDIC, please consult important information regarding the FDIC's FOIA process, located at sections 309.4 and 309.5 of the FDIC's Rules and Regulation (title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations).

Thank you for your interest in FOIA.