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.
2010 Chief FOIA Officer Report for the Department of Justice |