The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 

As Amended By 

Public Law No. 110-175, 121 Stat. 2524 

Below is the full text of the Freedom of Information Act in a form showing all 

amendments to the statute made by the “Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our 

National Government Act of 2007.” All newly enacted provisions are in boldface type. 

§ 552. Public information; agency rules, opinions, orders, records, and proceedings 

(a) Each agency shall make available to the public information as follows: 

(1) Each agency shall separately state and currently publish in the Federal 

Register for the guidance of the public— 

(A) descriptions of its central and field organization and the established 

places at which, the employees (and in the case of a uniformed service, the 

members) from whom, and the methods whereby, the public may obtain 

information, make submittals or requests, or obtain decisions; 

(B) statements of the general course and method by which its functions are 

channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of all 

formal and informal procedures available; 

(C) rules of procedure, descriptions of forms available or the places at 

which forms may be obtained, and instructions as to the scope and 

contents of all papers, reports, or examinations; 

(D) substantive rules of general applicability adopted as authorized by 

law, and statements of general policy or interpretations of general 

applicability formulated and adopted by the agency; and 

(E) each amendment, revision, or repeal of the foregoing. 

Except to the extent that a person has actual and timely notice of the terms 

thereof, a person may not in any manner be required to resort to, or be adversely 

affected by, a matter required to be published in the Federal Register and not so 

published. For the purpose of this paragraph, matter reasonably available to the 

class of persons affected thereby is deemed published in the Federal Register 

when incorporated by reference therein with the approval of the Director of the 

Federal Register. 

(2) Each agency, in accordance with published rules, shall make available for 

public inspection and copying— 
(A) final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well 

as orders, made in the adjudication of cases; 

(B) those statements of policy and interpretations which have been 

adopted by the agency and are not published in the Federal Register; 

(C) administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a 

member of the public; 

(D) copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been 

released to any person under paragraph (3) and which, because of the 

nature of their subject matter, the agency determines have become or are 

likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the 

same records; and 

(E) a general index of the records referred to under subparagraph (D); 

unless the materials are promptly published and copies offered for sale. For 

records created on or after November 1, 1996, within one year after such date, 

each agency shall make such records available, including by computer 

telecommunications or, if computer telecommunications means have not been 

established by the agency, by other electronic means. To the extent required to 

prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, an agency may delete 

identifying details when it makes available or publishes an opinion, statement of 

policy, interpretation, staff manual, instruction, or copies of records referred to in 

subparagraph (D). However, in each case the justification for the deletion shall be 

explained fully in writing, and the extent of such deletion shall be indicated on the 

portion of the record which is made available or published, unless including that 

indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) 

under which the deletion is made. If technically feasible, the extent of the deletion 

shall be indicated at the place in the record where the deletion was made. Each 

agency shall also maintain and make available for public inspection and copying 

current indexes providing identifying information for the public as to any matter 

issued, adopted, or promulgated after July 4, 1967, and required by this paragraph 

to be made available or published. Each agency shall promptly publish, quarterly 

or more frequently, and distribute (by sale or otherwise) copies of each index or 

supplements thereto unless it determines by order published in the Federal 

Register that the publication would be unnecessary and impracticable, in which 

case the agency shall nonetheless provide copies of an index on request at a cost 

not to exceed the direct cost of duplication. Each agency shall make the index 

referred to in subparagraph (E) available by computer telecommunications by 

December 31, 1999. A final order, opinion, statement of policy, interpretation, or 

staff manual or instruction that affects a member of the public may be relied on, 

used, or cited as precedent by an agency against a party other than an agency only 

if— 
(i) it has been indexed and either made available or published as 

provided by this paragraph; or 

(ii) the party has actual and timely notice of the terms thereof. 

(3)(A) Except with respect to the records made available under paragraphs (1) and 

(2) of this subsection, and except as provided in subparagraph (E), each agency, 

upon any request for records which (i) reasonably describes such records and (ii) 

is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any), 

and procedures to be followed, shall make the records promptly available to any 

person. 

(B) In making any record available to a person under this paragraph, an 

agency shall provide the record in any form or format requested by the 

person if the record is readily reproducible by the agency in that form or 

format. Each agency shall make reasonable efforts to maintain its records 

in forms or formats that are reproducible for purposes of this section. 

(C) In responding under this paragraph to a request for records, an agency 

shall make reasonable efforts to search for the records in electronic form 

or format, except when such efforts would significantly interfere with the 

operation of the agency's automated information system. 

(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term "search" means to review, 

manually or by automated means, agency records for the purpose of 

locating those records which are responsive to a request. 

(E) An agency, or part of an agency, that is an element of the intelligence 

community (as that term is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 

Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4))) shall not make any record available 

under this paragraph to— 

(i) any government entity, other than a State, territory, 

commonwealth, or district of the United States, or any subdivision 

thereof; or 

(ii) a representative of a government entity described in clause (i). 

(4)(A)(i) In order to carry out the provisions of this section, each agency shall 

promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, 

specifying the schedule of fees applicable to the processing of requests under this 

section and establishing procedures and guidelines for determining when such 

fees should be waived or reduced. Such schedule shall conform to the guidelines 

which shall be promulgated, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, by 

the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and which shall provide for 

a uniform schedule of fees for all agencies. 
(ii) Such agency regulations shall provide that— 

(I) fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for 

document search, duplication, and review, when records are 

requested for commercial use; 

(II) fees shall be limited to reasonable standard charges for 

document duplication when records are not sought for 

commercial use and the request is made by an educational 

or noncommercial scientific institution, whose purpose is 

scholarly or scientific research; or a representative of the 

news media; and 

(III) for any request not described in (I) or (II), fees shall be 

limited to reasonable standard charges for document search 

and duplication. 

In this clause, the term ‘a representative of the news media’ 

means any person or entity that gathers information of 

potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial 

skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and 

distributes that work to an audience. In this clause, the term 

‘news’ means information that is about current events or that 

would be of current interest to the public. Examples of newsmedia entities are television or radio stations broadcasting to 

the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only if 

such entities qualify as disseminators of ‘news’) who make 

their products available for purchase by or subscription by or 

free distribution to the general public. These examples are not 

all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of news delivery evolve (for 

example, the adoption of the electronic dissemination of 

newspapers through telecommunications services), such 

alternative media shall be considered to be news-media 

entities. A freelance journalist shall be regarded as working for 

a news-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid 

basis for expecting publication through that entity, whether or 

not the journalist is actually employed by the entity. A 

publication contract would present a solid basis for such an 

expectation; the Government may also consider the past 

publication record of the requester in making such a 

determination. 

(iii) Documents shall be furnished without any charge or at a 

charge reduced below the fees established under clause (ii) if 

disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is 

likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the 
operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in 

the commercial interest of the requester. 

(iv) Fee schedules shall provide for the recovery of only the direct 

costs of search, duplication, or review. Review costs shall include 

only the direct costs incurred during the initial examination of a 

document for the purposes of determining whether the documents 

must be disclosed under this section and for the purposes of 

withholding any portions exempt from disclosure under this 

section. Review costs may not include any costs incurred in 

resolving issues of law or policy that may be raised in the course of 

processing a request under this section. No fee may be charged by 

any agency under this section— 

(I) if the costs of routine collection and processing of the 

fee are likely to equal or exceed the amount of the fee; or 

(II) for any request described in clause (ii)(II) or (III) of 

this subparagraph for the first two hours of search time or 

for the first one hundred pages of duplication. 

(v) No agency may require advance payment of any fee unless the 

requester has previously failed to pay fees in a timely fashion, or 

the agency has determined that the fee will exceed $250. 

(vi) Nothing in this subparagraph shall supersede fees chargeable 

under a statute specifically providing for setting the level of fees 

for particular types of records. 

(vii) In any action by a requester regarding the waiver of fees 

under this section, the court shall determine the matter de novo: 

Provided, That the court's review of the matter shall be limited to 

the record before the agency. 

(viii) An agency shall not assess search fees (or in the case of a 

requester described under clause (ii)(II), duplication fees) 

under this subparagraph if the agency fails to comply with any 

time limit under paragraph (6), if no unusual or exceptional 

circumstances (as those terms are defined for purposes of 

paragraphs (6)(B) and (C), respectively) apply to the 

processing of the request. [Effective one year from date of 

enactment] 

(B) On complaint, the district court of the United States in the district in 

which the complainant resides, or has his principal place of business, or in 

which the agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia, has 
jurisdiction to enjoin the agency from withholding agency records and to 

order the production of any agency records improperly withheld from the 

complainant. In such a case the court shall determine the matter de novo, 

and may examine the contents of such agency records in camera to 

determine whether such records or any part thereof shall be withheld 

under any of the exemptions set forth in subsection (b) of this section, and 

the burden is on the agency to sustain its action. In addition to any other 

matters to which a court accords substantial weight, a court shall accord 

substantial weight to an affidavit of an agency concerning the agency's 

determination as to technical feasibility under paragraph (2)(C) and 

subsection (b) and reproducibility under paragraph (3)(B). 

(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the defendant shall serve 

an answer or otherwise plead to any complaint made under this subsection 

within thirty days after service upon the defendant of the pleading in 

which such complaint is made, unless the court otherwise directs for good 

cause is shown. 

[(D) Repealed. Pub. L. 98-620, title IV, Sec. 402(2), Nov. 8, 1984, 98 

Stat. 3357.] 

(E)(i) The court may assess against the United States reasonable attorney 

fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case under this 

section in which the complainant has substantially prevailed. 

(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, a complainant has 

substantially prevailed if the complainant has obtained relief 

through either— 

(I) a judicial order, or an enforceable written agreement 

or consent decree; or 

(II) a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the 

agency, if the complainant’s claim is not insubstantial. 

(F)(i) Whenever the court orders the production of any agency records 

improperly withheld from the complainant and assesses against the United 

States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs, and the court 

additionally issues a written finding that the circumstances surrounding 

the withholding raise questions whether agency personnel acted arbitrarily 

or capriciously with respect to the withholding, the Special Counsel shall 

promptly initiate a proceeding to determine whether disciplinary action is 

warranted against the officer or employee who was primarily responsible 

for the withholding. The Special Counsel, after investigation and 

consideration of the evidence submitted, shall submit his findings and 

recommendations to the administrative authority of the agency concerned 
and shall send copies of the findings and recommendations to the officer 

or employee or his representative. The administrative authority shall take 

the corrective action that the Special Counsel recommends. 

(ii) The Attorney General shall— 

(I) notify the Special Counsel of each civil action 

described under the first sentence of clause (i); and 

(II) annually submit a report to Congress on the 

number of such civil actions in the preceding year. 

(iii) The Special Counsel shall annually submit a report to 

Congress on the actions taken by the Special Counsel under 

clause (i). 

(G) In the event of noncompliance with the order of the court, the district 

court may punish for contempt the responsible employee, and in the case 

of a uniformed service, the responsible member. 

(5) Each agency having more than one member shall maintain and make available 

for public inspection a record of the final votes of each member in every agency 

proceeding. 

(6)(A) Each agency, upon any request for records made under paragraph (1), (2), 

or (3) of this subsection, shall— 

(i) determine within 20 days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and 

legal public holidays) after the receipt of any such request whether 

to comply with such request and shall immediately notify the 

person making such request of such determination and the reasons 

therefor, and of the right of such person to appeal to the head of the 

agency any adverse determination; and 

(ii) make a determination with respect to any appeal within twenty 

days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) 

after the receipt of such appeal. If on appeal the denial of the 

request for records is in whole or in part upheld, the agency shall 

notify the person making such request of the provisions for judicial 

review of that determination under paragraph (4) of this 

subsection. 

The 20-day period under clause (i) shall commence on the date 

on which the request is first received by the appropriate 

component of the agency, but in any event not later than ten 

days after the request is first received by any component of the 
 

agency that is designated in the agency’s regulations under this 

section to receive requests under this section. The 20-day 

period shall not be tolled by the agency except— 

(I) that the agency may make one request to the 

requester for information and toll the 20-day period 

while it is awaiting such information that it has 

reasonably requested from the requester under this 

section; or 

(II) if necessary to clarify with the requester issues 

regarding fee assessment. In either case, the agency’s 

receipt of the requester’s response to the agency’s 

request for information or clarification ends the tolling 

period. 

[Effective one year from date of enactment] 

(B)(i) In unusual circumstances as specified in this subparagraph, the time 

limits prescribed in either clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) may 

be extended by written notice to the person making such request setting 

forth the unusual circumstances for such extension and the date on which a 

determination is expected to be dispatched. No such notice shall specify a 

date that would result in an extension for more than ten working days, 

except as provided in clause (ii) of this subparagraph. 

(ii) With respect to a request for which a written notice under 

clause (i) extends the time limits prescribed under clause (i) of 

subparagraph (A), the agency shall notify the person making the 

request if the request cannot be processed within the time limit 

specified in that clause and shall provide the person an opportunity 

to limit the scope of the request so that it may be processed within 

that time limit or an opportunity to arrange with the agency an 

alternative time frame for processing the request or a modified 

request. To aid the requester, each agency shall make available 

its FOIA Public Liaison, who shall assist in the resolution of 

any disputes between the requester and the agency. [Effective 

one year from date of enactment]. Refusal by the person to 

reasonably modify the request or arrange such an alternative time 

frame shall be considered as a factor in determining whether 

exceptional circumstances exist for purposes of subparagraph (C). 

(iii) As used in this subparagraph, "unusual circumstances" means, 

but only to the extent reasonably necessary to the proper 

processing of the particular requests— 
(I) the need to search for and collect the requested records 

from field facilities or other establishments that are separate 

from the office processing the request; 

(II) the need to search for, collect, and appropriately 

examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct 

records which are demanded in a single request; or 

(III) the need for consultation, which shall be conducted 

with all practicable speed, with another agency having a 

substantial interest in the determination of the request or 

among two or more components of the agency having 

substantial subject-matter interest therein. 

(iv) Each agency may promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice 

and receipt of public comment, providing for the aggregation of 

certain requests by the same requestor, or by a group of requestors 

acting in concert, if the agency reasonably believes that such 

requests actually constitute a single request, which would 

otherwise satisfy the unusual circumstances specified in this 

subparagraph, and the requests involve clearly related matters. 

Multiple requests involving unrelated matters shall not be 

aggregated. 

(C)(i) Any person making a request to any agency for records under 

paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection shall be deemed to have 

exhausted his administrative remedies with respect to such request if the 

agency fails to comply with the applicable time limit provisions of this 

paragraph. If the Government can show exceptional circumstances exist 

and that the agency is exercising due diligence in responding to the 

request, the court may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional 

time to complete its review of the records. Upon any determination by an 

agency to comply with a request for records, the records shall be made 

promptly available to such person making such request. Any notification 

of denial of any request for records under this subsection shall set forth the 

names and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial of 

such request. 

(ii) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "exceptional 

circumstances" does not include a delay that results from a 

predictable agency workload of requests under this section, unless 

the agency demonstrates reasonable progress in reducing its 

backlog of pending requests. 

(iii) Refusal by a person to reasonably modify the scope of a 

request or arrange an alternative time frame for processing a 
 

request (or a modified request) under clause (ii) after being given 

an opportunity to do so by the agency to whom the person made 

the request shall be considered as a factor in determining whether 

exceptional circumstances exist for purposes of this subparagraph. 

(D)(i) Each agency may promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and 

receipt of public comment, providing for multitrack processing of requests 

for records based on the amount of work or time (or both) involved in 

processing requests. 

(ii) Regulations under this subparagraph may provide a person 

making a request that does not qualify for the fastest multitrack 

processing an opportunity to limit the scope of the request in order 

to qualify for faster processing. 

(iii) This subparagraph shall not be considered to affect the 

requirement under subparagraph (C) to exercise due diligence. 

(E)(i) Each agency shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to notice and 

receipt of public comment, providing for expedited processing of requests 

for records— 

(I) in cases in which the person requesting the records 

demonstrates a compelling need; and 

(II) in other cases determined by the agency. 

(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), regulations under this subparagraph 

must ensure— 

(I) that a determination of whether to provide expedited 

processing shall be made, and notice of the determination 

shall be provided to the person making the request, within 

10 days after the date of the request; and 

(II) expeditious consideration of administrative appeals of 

such determinations of whether to provide expedited 

processing. 

(iii) An agency shall process as soon as practicable any request for 

records to which the agency has granted expedited processing 

under this subparagraph. Agency action to deny or affirm denial of 

a request for expedited processing pursuant to this subparagraph, 

and failure by an agency to respond in a timely manner to such a 

request shall be subject to judicial review under paragraph (4), 
except that the judicial review shall be based on the record before 

the agency at the time of the determination. 

(iv) A district court of the United States shall not have jurisdiction 

to review an agency denial of expedited processing of a request for 

records after the agency has provided a complete response to the 

request. 

(v) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "compelling need" 

means— 

(I) that a failure to obtain requested records on an expedited 

basis under this paragraph could reasonably be expected to 

pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an 

individual; or 

(II) with respect to a request made by a person primarily 

engaged in disseminating information, urgency to inform 

the public concerning actual or alleged Federal 

Government activity. 

(vi) A demonstration of a compelling need by a person making a 

request for expedited processing shall be made by a statement 

certified by such person to be true and correct to the best of such 

person's knowledge and belief. 

(F) In denying a request for records, in whole or in part, an agency shall 

make a reasonable effort to estimate the volume of any requested matter 

the provision of which is denied, and shall provide any such estimate to 

the person making the request, unless providing such estimate would harm 

an interest protected by the exemption in subsection (b) pursuant to which 

the denial is made. 

(7) Each agency shall— 

(A) establish a system to assign an individualized tracking number for 

each request received that will take longer than ten days to process 

and provide to each person making a request the tracking number 

assigned to the request; and 

(B) establish a telephone line or Internet service that provides 

information about the status of a request to the person making the 

request using the assigned tracking number, including— 

(i) the date on which the agency originally received the request; 

and 
(ii) an estimated date on which the agency will complete action 

on the request. 

[Effective one year from date of enactment] 

(b) This section does not apply to matters that are— 

(1)(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to 

be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and (B) are in 

fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order; 

(2) related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency; 

(3) specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of 

this title), provided that such statute (A) requires that the matters be withheld from 

the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue, or (B) 

establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of 

matters to be withheld; 

(4) trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person 

and privileged or confidential; 

(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be 

available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency; 

(6) personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would 

constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; 

(7) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the 

extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information (A) 

could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) 

would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) 

could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal 

privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a 

confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any 

private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the 

case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority 

in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful 

national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a 

confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law 

enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law 

enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be 

expected to risk circumvention of the law, or (F) could reasonably be expected to 

endanger the life or physical safety of any individual; 
(8) 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; or 

(9) geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning 

wells. 

Any reasonably segregable portion of a record shall be provided to any person requesting 

such record after deletion of the portions which are exempt under this subsection. The 

amount of information deleted, and the exemption under which the deletion is made, 

shall be indicated on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication 

would harm an interest protected by the exemption in this subsection under which the 

deletion is made. If technically feasible, the amount of the information deleted, and the 

exemption under which the deletion is made, shall be indicated at the place in the 

record where such deletion is made. 

(c)(1) Whenever a request is made which involves access to records described in 

subsection (b)(7)(A) and— 

(A) the investigation or proceeding involves a possible violation of 

criminal law; and 

(B) there is reason to believe that (i) the subject of the investigation or 

proceeding is not aware of its pendency, and (ii) disclosure of the 

existence of the records could reasonably be expected to interfere with 

enforcement proceedings, the agency may, during only such time as that 

circumstance continues, treat the records as not subject to the requirements 

of this section. 

(2) Whenever informant records maintained by a criminal law enforcement 

agency under an informant's name or personal identifier are requested by a third 

party according to the informant's name or personal identifier, the agency may 

treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section unless the 

informant's status as an informant has been officially confirmed. 

(3) Whenever a request is made which involves access to records maintained by 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation pertaining to foreign intelligence or 

counterintelligence, or international terrorism, and the existence of the records is 

classified information as provided in subsection (b)(1), the Bureau may, as long as 

the existence of the records remains classified information, treat the records as not 

subject to the requirements of this section. 

(d) This section does not authorize the withholding of information or limit the availability 

of records to the public, except as specifically stated in this section. This section is not 

authority to withhold information from Congress. 
(e)(1) On or before February 1 of each year, each agency shall submit to the Attorney 

General of the United States a report which shall cover the preceding fiscal year and 

which shall include— 

(A) the number of determinations made by the agency not to comply with 

requests for records made to such agency under subsection (a) and the 

reasons for each such determination; 

(B)(i) the number of appeals made by persons under subsection (a)(6), the 

result of such appeals, and the reason for the action upon each appeal that 

results in a denial of information; and 

(ii) a complete list of all statutes that the agency relies upon to 

authorize the agency to withhold information under subsection 

(b)(3), the number of occasions on which each statute was 

relied upon, a description of whether a court has upheld the 

decision of the agency to withhold information under each such 

statute, and a concise description of the scope of any information 

withheld; 

(C) the number of requests for records pending before the agency as of 

September 30 of the preceding year, and the median and average number 

of days that such requests had been pending before the agency as of that 

date; 

(D) the number of requests for records received by the agency and the 

number of requests which the agency processed; 

(E) the median number of days taken by the agency to process different 

types of requests, based on the date on which the requests were 

received by the agency; 

(F) the average number of days for the agency to respond to a request 

beginning on the date on which the request was received by the 

agency, the median number of days for the agency to respond to such 

requests, and the range in number of days for the agency to respond 

to such requests; 

(G) based on the number of business days that have elapsed since each 

request was originally received by the agency— 

(i) the number of requests for records to which the agency has 

responded with a determination within a period up to and 

including 20 days, and in 20-day increments up to and 

including 200 days; 
(ii) the number of requests for records to which the agency has 

responded with a determination within a period greater than 

200 days and less than 301 days; 

(iii) the number of requests for records to which the agency has 

responded with a determination within a period greater than 

300 days and less than 401 days; and 

(iv) the number of requests for records to which the agency has 

responded with a determination within a period greater than 

400 days; 

(H) the average number of days for the agency to provide the granted 

information beginning on the date on which the request was originally 

filed, the median number of days for the agency to provide the 

granted information, and the range in number of days for the agency 

to provide the granted information; 

(I) the median and average number of days for the agency to respond 

to administrative appeals based on the date on which the appeals 

originally were received by the agency, the highest number of business 

days taken by the agency to respond to an administrative appeal, and 

the lowest number of business days taken by the agency to respond to 

an administrative appeal; 

(J) data on the 10 active requests with the earliest filing dates pending 

at each agency, including the amount of time that has elapsed since 

each request was originally received by the agency; 

(K) data on the 10 active administrative appeals with the earliest filing 

dates pending before the agency as of September 30 of the preceding 

year, including the number of business days that have elapsed since 

the requests were originally received by the agency; 

(L) the number of expedited review requests that are granted and 

denied, the average and median number of days for adjudicating 

expedited review requests, and the number adjudicated within the 

required 10 days; 

(M) the number of fee waiver requests that are granted and denied, 

and the average and median number of days for adjudicating fee 

waiver determinations; 

(F) (N) the total amount of fees collected by the agency for processing 

requests; and 
(G) (O) the number of full-time staff of the agency devoted to processing 

requests for records under this section, and the total amount expended by 

the agency for processing such requests. 

(2) Information in each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall be 

expressed in terms of each principal component of the agency and for the 

agency overall. 

(2) (3) Each agency shall make each such report available to the public including 

by computer telecommunications, or if computer telecommunications means have 

not been established by the agency, by other electronic means. In addition, each 

agency shall make the raw statistical data used in its reports available 

electronically to the public upon request. 

(3) (4 ) The Attorney General of the United States shall make each report which 

has been made available by electronic means available at a single electronic 

access point. The Attorney General of the United States shall notify the Chairman 

and ranking minority member of the Committee on Government Reform and 

Oversight of the House of Representatives and the Chairman and ranking 

minority member of the Committees on Governmental Affairs and the Judiciary 

of the Senate, no later than April 1 of the year in which each such report is issued, 

that such reports are available by electronic means. 

(4) (5) The Attorney General of the United States, in consultation with the 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget, shall develop reporting and 

performance guidelines in connection with reports required by this subsection by 

October 1, 1997, and may establish additional requirements for such reports as the 

Attorney General determines may be useful. 

(5) (6) The Attorney General of the United States shall submit an annual report on 

or before April 1 of each calendar year which shall include for the prior calendar 

year a listing of the number of cases arising under this section, the exemption 

involved in each case, the disposition of such case, and the cost, fees, and 

penalties assessed under subparagraphs (E), (F), and (G) of subsection (a)(4). 

Such report shall also include a description of the efforts undertaken by the 

Department of Justice to encourage agency compliance with this section. 

(f) For purposes of this section, the term— 

(1) "agency" as defined in section 551(1) of this title includes any executive 

department, military department, Government corporation, Government 

controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the 

Government (including the Executive Office of the President), or any independent 

regulatory agency; and 
(2) “record and any other term used in this section in reference to information 

includes any information that would be an agency record subject to the 

requirements of this section when maintained by an agency in any format, 

including an electronic format. 

(2) ‘record’ and any other term used in this section in reference to 

information includes— 

(A) any information that would be an agency record subject to the 

requirements of this section when maintained by an agency in any 

format, including an electronic format; and 

(B) any information described under subparagraph (A) that is 

maintained for an agency by an entity under Government contract, 

for the purposes of records management. 

(g) The head of each agency shall prepare and make publicly available upon request, 

reference material or a guide for requesting records or information from the agency, 

subject to the exemptions in subsection (b), including— 

(1) an index of all major information systems of the agency; 

(2) a description of major information and record locator systems maintained by 

the agency; and 

(3) a handbook for obtaining various types and categories of public information 

from the agency pursuant to chapter 35 of title 44, and under this section. 

(h)(1) There is established the Office of Government Information Services within 

the National Archives and Records Administration. 

(2) The Office of Government Information Services shall— 

(A) review policies and procedures of administrative agencies under 

this section; 

(B) review compliance with this section by administrative agencies; 

and 

(C) recommend policy changes to Congress and the President to 

improve the administration of this section. 

(3) The Office of Government Information Services shall offer mediation 

services to resolve disputes between persons making requests under this 

section and administrative agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to 
litigation and, at the discretion of the Office, may issue advisory opinions if 

mediation has not resolved the dispute. 

(i) The Government Accountability Office shall conduct audits of administrative 

agencies on the implementation of this section and issue reports detailing the results 

of such audits. 

(j) Each agency shall designate a Chief FOIA Officer who shall be a senior official of 

such agency (at the Assistant Secretary or equivalent level). 

(k) The Chief FOIA Officer of each agency shall, subject to the authority of the head 

of the agency— 

(1) have agency-wide responsibility for efficient and appropriate compliance 

with this section; 

(2) monitor implementation of this section throughout the agency and keep 

the head of the agency, the chief legal officer of the agency, and the Attorney 

General appropriately informed of the agency’s performance in 

implementing this section; 

(3) recommend to the head of the agency such adjustments to agency 

practices, policies, personnel, and funding as may be necessary to improve its 

implementation of this section; 

(4) review and report to the Attorney General, through the head of the 

agency, at such times and in such formats as the Attorney General may 

direct, on the agency’s performance in implementing this section; 

(5) facilitate public understanding of the purposes of the statutory 

exemptions of this section by including concise descriptions of the exemptions 

in both the agency’s handbook issued under subsection (g), and the agency’s 

annual report on this section, and by providing an overview, where 

appropriate, of certain general categories of agency records to which those 

exemptions apply; and 

(6) designate one or more FOIA Public Liaisons. 

(l) FOIA Public Liaisons shall report to the agency Chief FOIA Officer and shall 

serve as supervisory officials to whom a requester under this section can raise 

concerns about the service the requester has received from the FOIA Requester 

Center, following an initial response from the FOIA Requester Center Staff. FOIA 

Public Liaisons shall be responsible for assisting in reducing delays, increasing 

transparency and understanding of the status of requests, and assisting in the 

resolution of disputes.