Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA) OGIS is guided by the provisions of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1996 (ADRA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 571-84, including the confidentiality provision. This guidance helps to ensure that OGIS can effectively and impartially work to facilitate resolutions of FOIA disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Confidentiality is a key to successful use of ADR. In the interest of promoting open and candid dialogue with all parties involved in a dispute, OGIS, at its discretion, may grant an express request to speak to the Office in confidence. At the same time, OGIS is

Each department and agency has FOIA regulations, or rules, outlining the procedures governing the FOIA administrative process within that department or agency. The rules outline requirements for requesters seeking access to information and responsibilities the agency has to respond to requests, along with how fees are determined and how appeals are handled. FOIA contains two requirements for filing requests: (1) that the request reasonably describe the information sought and (2) that the requester follow the agency’s FOIA regulations when submitting the request. If a requester does not follow an agency’s FOIA regulations, the agency is not required to process the

As the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Ombudsman, OGIS observes the FOIA process at agencies across the government. In this role, OGIS is able to see firsthand what works for requesters and what does not. Periodically, we republish what we learn as best practices guides for requesters. You can find these guides at on our Best Practices for FOIA Requesters page. If you have a best practice that you would like to suggest to OGIS, please send the Office an email and tell OGIS what has worked for you.

OGIS has no authority to compel an agency to release records. OGIS offers mediation services to help resolve Freedom of Information Act disputes by facilitating communication between the agency and the requester in order to achieve a resolution with which both are comfortable. OGIS’s range of mediation services – which includes formal mediation, facilitation, and ombuds services – does not include processes such as arbitration, in which a third party makes a binding decision. OGIS’s formal mediation process is voluntary and depends on the willing participation of both parties.

FOIA applies only to records of Federal executive branch agencies. Records created by Congress are not subject to FOIA. Requesters cannot submit FOIA requests to Congress to obtain records. Many resources exist to aid the public in finding Congressional records, such as the service “Thomas,” operated by the Library of Congress, available online at: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . The U.S. Government Printing Office also provides access to Congressional information on its Web site at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ . Many members and committees proactively post documents on their own Web sites as well.

Although FOIA requires that agencies respond to requests within 20 working days, many agencies receive thousands or tens of thousands of requests each year and cannot provide responses within that time period. Agencies are working on decreasing their backlogs and should provide requesters with tracking information so requesters can check the status of their own requests. The OPEN Government Act of 2007 requires agencies to assign individualized tracking numbers to requests that will take longer than 10 days to process. Most agencies provide this number to requesters in an acknowledgment letter sent upon receipt of the FOIA request. Agencies are

The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy publishes the United States Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA Guide), which is a comprehensive guide to the FOIA. The FOIA Guide explains FOIA’s procedural requirements, exemptions, fee and fee waiver provisions and litigation considerations. The FOIA Guide also includes analysis of judicial opinions issued regarding FOIA.

There are nine exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act; each allows agencies to withhold specific types of information. Exemption 2 covers records that are “related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.” 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(2). On March 7, 2011, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion pertaining to Exemption 2 that significantly narrowed the scope of this exemption. See Milner v. Department of the Navy, 131 S.Ct. 1259, 562 U.S. (2011). The Supreme Court limited the scope of Exemption 2 to encompass only records relating to

There are nine exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act; each allows agencies to withhold specific types of information. Exemption 4 protects trade secrets and commercial or financial information that is obtained from a person and that is privileged or confidential. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). The exemption is intended to protect the interests of both the government and individuals and companies who submit commercial or financial information to the government.

There are nine exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act; each allows agencies to withhold specific types of information. Exemption 6 protects information about individuals in “personnel and medical files and similar files” when the disclosure of such information “would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(6).

There are nine exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act; each allows agencies to withhold specific types of information. Exemption 8 protects information “contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions.” 5 U.S.C. § 552 (b)(8).

When a requester files a FOIA request, he or she may ask for “expedited processing” of that request, meaning the requester asks the agency to process that request “as soon as practicable.” When an agency grants a request for expedited processing, the agency places that FOIA request ahead of other requests that have been pending in the agency’s queue awaiting assignment for processing. Most agencies require that a requester asking for expedited processing fall into one of two categories. In the first case, the requester must demonstrate a “compelling need” by showing that failure to obtain the records would

As the Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Ombudsman, OGIS observes the FOIA process at agencies across the government. This role allows the office to observe successful practices that individual agencies develop but which other agencies may not be aware. OGIS distributes the best practices that it gathers in a number of ways. OGIS has produced a best practices chart which links observed agency best practices to FOIA’s key requirements and guidance by top administration officials.

The amended Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. §552) (FOIA) allows agencies to charge fees in connection with the processing of a FOIA request. Though every agency has its own FOIA regulations related to fees, there is a uniform fee schedule and guidelines published by the Office of Management and Budget (available at 52 Federal Register 10,012) that applies to all agencies. A requester is placed into one of three requester categories – commercial, non-commercial and all other -- and the fees he or she is charged vary depending on the category. Requesters who qualify for a

FOIA Public Liaisons are supervisory officials within Federal departments and agencies who are responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and resolving disputes. Executive Order 13392 Improving Agency Disclosure of Information, signed by President George W. Bush on December 14, 2005, created the FOIA Public Liaison position. The role of FOIA Public Liaisons was bolstered by the OPEN Government of Act of 2007, which amended FOIA and gave statutory authority to the FOIA Public Liaison mandate created in the Executive Order. OGIS works closely with FOIA Public Liaisons, who are frequently the

In some cases, admitting that records exist or do not exist would reveal an exempt fact (for instance, whether an agency was conducting a criminal probe of an individual or entity). To protect that fact, an agency may choose to neither confirm nor deny the existence of records in response to a FOIA request. This is called a “Glomar response” (see below for the background of this term).Glomar responses are generally used in response to FOIA requests for records pertaining to national security or criminal law enforcement matters. However, a Glomar response may be appropriate in connection with any

Agencies have distinct ways to search for records that are responsive to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. While some requesters may assume that all of an agency’s information is consolidated in one searchable database – or that FOIA staff can simply walk over to a cabinet to grab the file that was requested – this is almost never the case. Searching can be a complicated and lengthy process that often includes multiple members of an agency’s staff. Usually someone knowledgeable about the agency records reviews the FOIA request and determines where a search should be performed. In large

FOIA provides requesters with the right to file an appeal from an agency’s denial of a request. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i). If you receive a response to a FOIA request that results in the denial of information, either by citing an exemption to FOIA, by stating that the agency does not have any responsive records or by stating the agency cannot confirm or deny the existence of records, you may appeal that denial. An agency’s final response letter should contain information on where to send the appeal and give the time limit for filing the appeal. That information

An agency may toll, or stop, the 20-working-day time period in which the statute requires it to respond to a FOIA request under two circumstances. First, an agency may make one request to the requester for information and toll the response time while awaiting that information. Second, an agency may clarify fee assessment issues with the requester and toll the time period while doing so. Once the agency receives the requester’s response to an inquiry, the tolling period ends. 5 U.S.C. §§ 552(a)(6)(A)(I) and (II). The 20-working-day clock starts when the agency receives a proper FOIA request. When

Generally, each agency has specific contacts to whom requesters should submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The contact information on an agency’s FOIA website should include the agency’s FOIA contact’s name, mailing address, telephone and fax number, an email address, the name and contact information for the agency’s FOIA Public Liaison, and the name and contact information for the agency’s Chief FOIA Officer. Some departments have components with separate FOIA contacts to whom requesters should submit FOIA requests. The contact information for filing a request can be found in the agency’s FOIA regulations, which are published in the Federal

OGIS offers a range of mediation services as a non-exclusive, non-binding, no-cost alternative to litigation. Participation in an OGIS-arranged formal mediation is voluntary for all parties. A requester who is not satisfied with the results of our services may file a lawsuit against the agency to which he or she submitted a FOIA request, so long as he or she has exhausted his or her administrative remedies with an agency (including filing a timely appeal and receiving an adverse agency response or no response within the legal time frame allowed). Asking for our assistance does not prevent a requester from

When a FOIA requester or Federal agency requests OGIS assistance, we work as efficiently as possible to resolve the dispute. Asking for our assistance does not have a legal effect on the FOIA process from either the requester’s or agency’s perspective. Specifically, the statutory and regulatory deadlines in effect for both parties to respond are not affected. Often, agencies and requesters who agree to work out disputes through OGIS are flexible and understand that deadlines may pass while we working with them. However, requesters should preserve their rights by filing timely administrative appeals and agencies should know that the time

OGIS regularly reviews proposed agency FOIA regulations that are published in the Federal Register . Through its parent agency, the National Archives and Records Administration , OGIS comments on the proposed regulations with an eye toward ensuring FOIA works fairly and efficiently for all – agencies and requesters. OGIS also invites agencies to participate in a collaborative review of agency FOIA policies and procedures. OGIS performs these functions as part of its congressional directive to review FOIA policies, procedures and compliance, 5.U.S.C. 552(h)(2)(A) & (B).

Congress created OGIS in the OPEN Government Act of 2007 to work with executive branch agencies and requesters to resolve disputes between requesters and agencies and to promote compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). 5 U.S.C. § 552(h). OGIS is charged with: Reviewing agencies' FOIA policies and procedures; Reviewing agency compliance with FOIA; Recommending to Congress and the President ways to improve FOIA; Providing facilitation and mediation services to FOIA requesters and agencies to resolve disputes; and Issuing advisory opinions, at the Office's discretion, when mediation does not resolve disputes. OGIS provides facilitation and, where appropriate,

OGIS occasionally receives a case in which a Federal inmate has requested a copy of his/her Presentence Investigation Report (PSR). PSRs, along with other derivative records, are often found in material located in criminal prosecution files maintained by United States Attorney’s Offices. Access to a Federal inmate’s PSR is granted in accordance with Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) policy. BOP’s policy with respect to PSRs is that for safety and security reasons, inmates in Federal correctional facilities may not obtain or possess photocopies of their PSRs (See Reissued Program Statement No. 1351.05, Release of Information (September 19, 2002)). However,

Every Federal agency has a records schedule that proscribes how records within that agency are organized and stored. Those schedules work in accordance with the Federal Records Act, 44 U.S.C. 31. Records which are common to several or all Federal agencies, such as records pertaining to personnel or fiscal accounting, are handled according to General Records Schedules issued by the Archivist of the United States. Agencies individually develop records schedules for agency-specific records, which must be approved by the Archivist of the U.S. Destruction of Federal records is proscribed by the Disposal of Records law, 44 U

When Congress created OGIS, it mandated that OGIS review agencies’ FOIA policies, procedures and compliance, 5.U.S.C. 552(h)(2)(A) & (B). OGIS interprets this congressional directive broadly to include review of agency FOIA regulations and collaborative reviews of agency FOIA programs. See OGIS Review for details.

When records responsive to a FOIA request contain business or commercial information provided to a government agency by a third party (or submitter), that private submitter has an opportunity to weigh in before an agency releases the information. A typical situation in which a private party would provide information to the government is when the government contracts with a private party to provide a service or product. Under Executive Order 12600 , agencies are required to provide “submitter notice” to third-party submitters who have provided “confidential commercial or financial information” to the agency. That notice gives the third-party submitter the opportunity

A Vaughn Index is a document that agencies prepare in FOIA litigation to justify each withholding of information under a FOIA exemption. The term arose from a case captioned Vaughn v. Rosen, 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1974), in which the court required such an index to determine the validity of the agency’s withholdings in the case. Sometimes such an index can be useful in a non-litigation setting, though the Vaughn ruling does not require that agencies prepare an itemized index of withheld documents, in the context of the administrative process.