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GlossaryPublic records, privacy, and data quality

Freedom of Information Act

The federal Freedom of Information Act provides access to federal agency records. Learn its scope and how it differs from state public-records laws.

The Freedom of Information Act, commonly called FOIA, is the federal law providing public access to records of federal agencies, subject to specified protections and exclusions. It is a way to request existing agency records. It does not govern every government record in the United States.

Start with the level of government

The federal FOIA does not apply to records held by state or local governments, Congress, or federal courts. State and local access is governed by the applicable laws and procedures for those bodies. Some states also use “Freedom of Information Act” in the name of their own law, making the jurisdiction essential. Census Bureau FOIA FAQ.

For public-safety information, a city police department's records and a federal agency's records may therefore follow different access processes even when they concern related events.

Example

Hypothetical: A resident wants a city's police incident report and a federal agency's correspondence about a related matter. The resident identifies which organization holds each set of records.

The city report falls under the applicable state or local process. The federal correspondence may be requested under federal FOIA from the relevant federal agency. One request does not automatically retrieve every record held by every organization involved.

Common confusion

FOIA access is not the same as an open-data download. A government can publish some information proactively while other records require a request and review. A dashboard's limited fields do not establish the full contents of the agency's records.

A request for records also differs from asking an agency to conduct new analysis or answer a general question. FOIA.gov explains that agencies are not required to create records, conduct research, or analyze data to answer a request. The focus is the records the agency holds. FOIA.gov FAQ.

What a response can mean

An agency may release records, release them with portions removed, or withhold protected information under the applicable law. Federal FOIA contains nine exemptions addressing categories such as privacy and protected law-enforcement interests. Those federal categories should not be copied onto a local record without checking the law that applies there.

A “no records” response and a withholding decision mean different things. The first concerns the result of the search described in the response; the second concerns disclosure of located information. Read the agency's explanation, scope, and cited authority rather than treating either phrase as a conclusion about whether an underlying event occurred.

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