Like all federal agencies, the Department
of Justice (DOJ) generally is required under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) to disclose records requested in writing by any person. However,
agencies may withhold information pursuant to nine exemptions and three
exclusions contained in the statute. The FOIA applies only to federal
agencies and does not create a right of access to records held by Congress,
the courts, or by state or local government agencies. Each state has
its own public access laws that should be consulted for access to state
and local records.
Each federal agency is responsible for meeting its FOIA responsibilities
for its own records. A list of Principal FOIA Contacts At Federal Agencies is available
from this site. Likewise, each Department of Justice component is responsible
for processing FOIA requests for the records that it maintains. Consult
the DOJ FOIA Reference Guide and the List of Individual DOJ Components and FOIA Contacts if you
plan to make a FOIA request to the Department of Justice. Before making
a FOIA request, you should first browse About
DOJ, Press Room, Publications &
Documents, and Reading Rooms, which
contain information already available to the public. |