Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act

The United States Department of Justice Guide to the Freedom of Information Act is a comprehensive legal treatise on the FOIA. The Guide includes detailed discussions of the FOIA’s procedural requirements, nine exemptions, and litigation considerations. Each section contains a detailed analysis of the key judicial opinions issued on the FOIA.

Each chapter of the Guide will be updated by OIP on a rolling basis as significant new developments in FOIA occur. OIP’s Court Decisions page also provides a regularly updated review of significant FOIA decisions with detailed summaries searchable by key terms and topical categories.

All sections are available as Portable Document Format files, which may be viewed with a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Introduction (posted February 14, 2020)

Introduction (posted February 14, 2020)

• Structure of the FOIA (page 2)
• History of the FOIA (page 6)

Proactive Disclosures (posted August 4, 2020)

Proactive Disclosures (posted August 4, 2020)

• Subsection (a)(1) - Federal Register Publication (page 1)
• Subsection (a)(2) - Public Inspection in an Electronic Format (page 2)
• Electronic Availability of Proactive Disclosures (page 6)
• Indexing Proactive Disclosures (page 7)

Procedural Requirements (posted August 20, 2021)

Procedural Requirements (posted August 20, 2021)

• OPEN Government Act (page 1)
• FOIA Improvement Act (page 3)
• Entities Subject to the FOIA (page 5)
• “Agency Records” (page 11)
• FOIA Requesters (page 19)
• Proper FOIA Requests (page 25)
• Time Limits (page 34)
• Expedited Processing (page 39)
• Searching for Responsive Records (page 42)
• “Reasonably Segregable” Obligation (page 62)
• Consultations and Referrals (page 68)
• Responding to FOIA Requests (page 72)
• Administrative Appeals (page 79)

Fees and Fee Waivers (posted September 16, 2020)

Fees and Fee Waivers (posted September 16, 2020)

• Introduction (page 1)
• Fees (page 1)
• Requester Categories (page 2)
• Types of Fees (page 9)
• Fee Restrictions (page 13)
• Fee Waivers (page 21)

Exemption 1 (posted March 4, 2021)

Exemption 1 (posted March 4, 2021)

• Executive Order 13,526 (page 2)
• Compilation of Information (page 10)
• Reclassification of Information (page 12)
• Classifying Information After Receiving a FOIA Request (page 13)
• Proper National Security Markings (page 14)
• Duration of Classification and Declassification (page 16)
• Applicability of Successive Executive Orders (page 17)
• Deference to Agency Judgment (page 18)
• In Camera Submissions and Adequate Public Record (page 23)
• Glomar Response (page 24)
• Waiver of Exemption 1 Protection (page 27)
• Exclusion Considerations (page 36)

Exemption 2 (posted June 12, 2023)

Exemption 2 (posted June 12, 2023)

• Historical Interpretation of Exemption 2 (page 1)
• The Supreme Court’s Decision in Milner v. Department of the Navy (page 5)
• Exemption 2’s Three-Part Test (page 8)
• Exemption 2 Since Milner (page 9)

Exemption 3 (posted June 2, 2021)

Exemption 3 (posted June 2, 2021)

• Initial Considerations (page 2)
• Statutes Not Delineated as Subpart (A)(i) (Requiring Withholding) or Subpart (A)(ii) (Establishing Criteria or Designating Matters to be Withheld) (page 9)
• Subpart (A)(i): Statutes Requiring Withholding (page 15)
• Subpart (A)(ii): Statutes Establishing Criteria for Withholding or Referring to Types of Matters to be Withheld (page 24)
• Statutes Both Requiring Withholding and Establishing Criteria or Delineating Particular Matters to be Withheld (page 42)
• Tax Return Information (page 45)
• FOIA-Specific Nondisclosure Statutes (page 52)
• Nondisclosure Results Under Appropriations Acts (page 56)
• "Operational Files" Provisions (page 58)
• Statutes Found Not to Qualify Under Exemption 3 (page 60)

Exemption 4 (posted December 16, 2021)

Exemption 4 (posted December 16, 2021)

• Trade Secrets (page 1)
• Commercial or Financial Information (page 4)
• Obtained from a "Person" (page 9)
• "Confidential" Information (page 12)
• Privileged Information (page 18)
• Interrelation with the Trade Secrets Act (page 21)

Exemption 5 (posted March 13, 2023)

Exemption 5 (posted March 13, 2023)

• "Inter-Agency or Intra-Agency" Threshold Requirement (page 3)
• Consultant Corollary (page 4)
• Common Interest (page 12)
• Deliberative Process Privilege (page 15)
• Predecisional (page 18)
• Deliberative (page 28)
• Applying Deliberative Process Privilege (page 37)
• Adoption and Incorporation (page 45)
• Attorney Work-Product Privilege (page 52)
• Attorney-Client Privilege (page 66)
• Other Privileges (page 72)
• Foreseeable Harm and Other Considerations (page 80)

Exemption 6 (updated August 19, 2022)

Exemption 6 (updated August 19, 2022)

• Threshold: Personnel, Medical and Similar Files (page 4)
• Privacy Interest (page 6)
• Privacy Interest, Derivative Privacy Invasion (page 13)
• Privacy Interest, Government Correspondents (page 16)
• Privacy Interest, Federal Employees (page 19)
• Privacy Interest, Information in the Public Domain and Practical Obscurity (page 26)
• Privacy Interest, Corporations and Business Relations (page 33)
• Privacy Interest, Life Status (page 36)
• Privacy Interest, Public Figures (page 39)
• Privacy Interest, Privacy Assurances and Waivers (page 40)
• Privacy Interest, Interest in Disclosure (page 41)
• FOIA Public Interest (page 43)
• FOIA Public Interest, Assigning a Weight to the FOIA Public Interest (page 51)
• FOIA Public Interest, Nexus Between the Requested Information and the Public Interest (page 53)
• FOIA Public Interest, Derivative Use of the Information (page 59)
• FOIA Public Interest, Public Servant Accountability (page 63)
• FOIA Public Interest, Evidentiary Showing (page 68)
• Balancing a Privacy Interest in Nondisclosure Against a Public Interest in Release (page 73)
• Balancing a Privacy Interest in Nondisclosure Against a Public Interest in Release, Name and Home Address (page 78)
• Redacting Identifying Information (page 81)
• "Glomar" Responses (page 85)

Exemption 7 (posted January 27, 2022)

Exemption 7 (posted January 27, 2022)

• Introduction (page 1)
• Records or Information (page 4)
• Compiled (Page 5)
• Law Enforcement Purposes (page 7)

Exemption 7(A) (posted March 22, 2022)

Exemption 7(A) (posted March 22, 2022)

• Introduction (page 1)
• Two-Part Test (page 1)
• Duration (page 3)
• Types of Law Enforcement Proceedings (page 7)
• Related Proceedings (page 9)
• Generalized Showing of Harm (page 12)
• Types of Interference (page 13)
• Generic Categories (page 19)
• Deference (page 24)
• Time Frame for Determining Exemption 7(A) Applicability (page 25)
• Changes in Circumstances in Litigation When Exemption 7(A) No Longer Applies (page 26)
• Exclusion Considerations (page 28)

Exemption 7(B) (posted June 3, 2021)

Exemption 7(B) (posted June 3, 2021)

Exemption 7(C) (posted March 29, 2022)

Exemption 7(C) (posted March 29, 2022)

• Privacy Considerations (page 2)
• Public Interest (page 20)
• Balancing Process (page 29)
• The “Glomar” Response (page 35)

Exemption 7(D) (posted September 9, 2022)

Exemption 7(D) (posted September 9, 2022)

• Introduction (page 1)
• The Confidentiality Analysis (page 6)
• Express Confidentiality (page 7)
• Implied Confidentiality (page 11)
• Scope of Protection (page 21)
• Waiver of Confidentiality (page 26)
• Exclusion Considerations (page 33)

Exemption 7(E) (posted October 27, 2022)

Exemption 7(E) (posted October 27, 2022)

• Techniques and Procedures (page 1)
• Guidelines for Law Enforcement Investigations and Prosecutions (page 21)
• Homeland Security Records and Exemption 7(E) (page 26)

Exemption 7(F) (posted December 16, 2021)

Exemption 7(F) (posted December 16, 2021)

Exemption 8 (posted August 26, 2022)

Exemption 8 (posted August 26, 2022)

Exemption 9 (posted December 1, 2021)

Exemption 9 (posted December 1, 2021)

Exclusions (posted June 3, 2022)

Exclusions (posted June 3, 2022)

• The (c)(1) Exclusion (page 2)
• The (c)(2) Exclusion (page 7)
• The (c)(3) Exclusion (page 12)
• Procedural Considerations (page 14)

Waiver and Discretionary Disclosure (posted August 31, 2022)

• Waiver (page 1)
• Discretionary Disclosure (page 18)

Litigation Considerations 1 (posted February 27, 2024)

• Jurisdiction (page 1)
• Standing (page 8)
• Venue and Removal (page 11)
• Statute of Limitations (page 14)
• Pleadings (page 16)
• Relief (page 20)
• Preliminary Injunctions (page 25)
• Mootness and Other Grounds for Dismissal (page 27)
• “Policy or Practice” Claims (page 35)
• Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies (page 42)
• Constructive Exhaustion (page 46)
• “Open America” Stays of Proceedings (page 55)
• Discovery (page 61)

Litigation Considerations 2 (posted February 27, 2024)

Litigation Considerations 2 (posted February 27, 2024)

• Summary Judgment (page 1)
• Standard of Review (page 6)
• Evidentiary Showing (page 8)
  • Declarations (page 9)
  • Adequacy of Search (page 12)
  • Vaughn Index (page 27)
  • Foreseeable Harm Showing (page 42)
  • “Reasonably Segregable” Showing (page 49)

  Attorney Fees (updated October 14, 2022)

  Attorney Fees (updated October 14, 2022)

  • Threshold Issues (page 2)
  • Eligibility (page 7)
  • Entitlement (page 17)
  • Timing of Attorney Fees Motions (page 31)
  • Calculations (page 33)

  Reverse FOIA (updated January 27, 2023)

  Reverse FOIA (updated January 27, 2023)

  • Standard of Review (page 6)
  • Executive Order 12,600 (page 11)

  Text of the Freedom of Information Act

  Text of the Attorney General's Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act