ODNI FOIA HANDBOOK 

INTRODUCTION 

The goal of the ODNI's Freedom oflnformation Act/Privacy Act office is to keep the 

public better informed about the DNI's role to oversee and coordinate the foreign and 

domestic activities of the Intelligence Community (IC). Because of the ODNI's need to 

comply with the national security laws of the United States, some information, including 

documents, or portions thereof, cannot be released to the public. Nonetheless, it is the 

goal of the ODNI to release, when possible, a substantial amount of information 

following review. 

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), found in Section 552 of Title 5 of the United 

States Code, generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to 

request access to federal agency records. FOIA requires federal agencies to produce such 

records when requested, provided that the records (or portions thereol) are not exempt 

from disclosure pursuant to the FOIA's exemptions. 

The Privacy Act (PA), found in Section 552a of Title 5 of the United States Code, 

balances the government's need to collect, maintain, use, and disclose personal 

information about individuals with the rights of those individuals to be protected against 

unwarranted invasions of privacy. The PA provides citizens and legal permanent 

residents the right to obtain copies of records maintained on him/her if such information 

is not exempt from release under the provisions of the law. 

The ODNI began operations on 21 April 2005. If you are seeking records from other 

agencies within the Intelligence Community you must write to them directly. For more 

info1mation concerning our activities and the types of records we may have, please 

review our website, www.dni.gov. 

1. HOW TO MAKE A REQUEST

The purpose of this handbook is to provide you with the procedures for making a FOIA 

or PA request to the ODNI. The process is not complicated and you are not required to 

use any particular form. 

Requests for information from any ODNI component or office can be sent to the 

following address: 

FOIA/Privacy Act Office 

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (0 DNI) 

Washington, DC 20511 

You may also send a request by email to DNI-FOIA@dni.gov. 
Requests for information should be as specific as possible to ensure an accurate search 

for responsive material. A request that does not reasonably describe records cannot be 

processed and the requester will be contacted for clarification. 

The FOIA does not require agencies to answer questions. Only requests for documents 

will be processed by the FOIA office. 

Requests under the Privacy Act must include either a notarized statement of identity, or 

the following statement above your signature: 

"I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on 

(date)." 

2. FEES 

There is no initial fee to file a FOJA request and in the majority of requests made to the 

ODNI, no fees will ever be charged. Under the FOIA, however, the government is 

entitled to charge fees to certain types of requesters. Each requester will be placed in one 

of the following categories: 

Commercial: Requesters who seek information for a use or purpose that furthers their 

commercial, trade, or profit interest. Commercial requesters pay all fees for search, 

review, and duplication. 

Educational/Non-Commercial Scientific: Institutions of education, including preschools, 

elementary or secondary schools, and institutions of higher learning, or institutions 

operating solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research. Records must be 

sought for educational/academic/scientific research purposes. Educational/NonCommercial Scientific requesters pay only duplication fees. The first 100 pages are 

provided at no cost. 

News Media: Any person gathering news for an entity organized and operated to publish 

or broadcast news to the public. News media pay only duplication fees. Again, the first 

100 pages are provided at no cost. 

Other: Requesters who do not fall into the other categories are considered to be "other" in 

status. These individuals normally make requests for records for their personal use. 

"Other" requesters receive two hours of search time, the first l 00 pages duplication, and 

all review at no cost. 

ODNI will consider each FOIA request a firm commitment to pay any and all fees up to 

$25. However, a request letter may include a specific statement regarding the amount of 

fees the requester is willing to pay. Requesters are encouraged to include such a 

statement as it may speed up the processing of the FOIA request. This does not mean 

fees will automatically be assessed. An individual may also request a fee waiver. Fee 
waivers may be granted when disclosure of the information requested is in the public 

interest because it would contribute significantly to public understanding of the 

operations or activities of the government. The requester must demonstrate an ability to 

disseminate the information, and there must be no commercial interest to the requester in 

the disclosure of information. 

4. HOW SOON TO EXPECT A RESPONSE

Every attempt to respond within the 20 day timeframe established by the FOIA will be 

made. However, because of the complexity ofrecords maintained by the ODNI, it will 

not always be possible for this agency to meet that requirement. Pursuant to the Open 

Government Act of 2007, FOIA requesters may contact an agency's FOlA Requester 

Service Center to check on the status of their FOIA requests. The ODNI Service Center 

can be reached at 703-275-1313. 

5. ELIGIBILITY FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING

r n some cases, a requester may ask for expedited processing. ODNI will review all such 

requests. A requester must demonstrate one of the following compelling needs to be 

granted expedited processing: 

Circumstances in which the lack of expedited treatment could reasonably be 

expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual. 

An urgency to inform the public concerning an actual or alleged Federal Governmenl 

activity, if made by an individual primarily engaged in disseminating information. 

6. FOIA EXEMPTIONS

The FOIA allows the government to protect information that falls under one of its 

exemptions. The exemptions are cited in the Act as 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(l) through (b)(9). 

(b)(l)- records are currently and properly classif

ied in the interest of national security. 

(b)(2) - records that relate solely to the internal rules and practices of an agency. 

(b)(3) - records that are protected by another law that specifically exempts the 

infonnation from public release. 

(b)(4) - trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from an 

individual or business which would cause substantial competitive harm to the 

submitter if disclosed. 

(b)(S) - inter-agency or intra-agency documents which would not be available by law to a 

party in litigation with the agency (e.g., records protected by the deliberative process, 

attorney-client or attorney-work product privileges). 
(b)(6) - records which if released would result in a clearly unwarranted invasion of 

personal privacy. 

(b)(7) - investigatory records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes. 

(b)(8) - records used by agencies responsible for the regulation or supervision of 

financial institutions. 

(b)(9) - records containing geological and geophysical information regarding wells. 

7. HOW TO APPEAL

A requester has the right to appeal a denial of a document or any portion of that 

document. Failure of the ODN[ to find records may also be appealed. Appeals must 

be submitted within 90 days to the following address: 

FOIA/Privacy Act Office 

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) 

Washington, DC 205 l l 

8. ODNI FOIA ELECTRONIC READING ROOM

ODNl maintains an electronic reading room on its public website, www.dni.gov. 

Documents falling under subsection (a)(2) of the FOlA are posted there, including 

agency policy statements and records previously released under the FOIA. 

9. COMPLAINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

The ODNl Chief FOfA Officer, as defined by th� Open Government Act of 2007, has 

agency-wide responsibility for compliance with the FOIA. You may contact the ODNI 

Chief FOIA Officer at the following address with any complaints or suggestions 

regarding our FOIA process: 

Chief FOIA Officer 

Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) 

Washington, DC 20511