USA Banner
  U.S. flag
              An official website of the United States government Here's how you knowOfficial US Government Icon
              **Official websites use .gov**A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
            Secure Site Icon
              **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                  A **lock** ( A locked padlock ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. 
 U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation
 Search DOT
            Search
                        About FMCSAAbout FMCSA
  

        
              Who We Are
                Mission
                Leadership
                Speaker Request Form
                Field Offices
                Policy
                Career Center
                Contact UsResources
  

        
              Frequently Asked Questions
                Grants
                FMCSA Advisory Committees
                Resources for State and Local Partners
                Reports to Congress
                National Training Center
                Motor Carrier Safety Planner
                Information Systems Overview
                ITD
                PRISM
                Your Roads. Their Freedom. (Stop Human Trafficking)RegulationsRegulations, Rules, & Notices
  

        
              FMCSA Guidance
                Regulations and Interpretations
                Rulemakings Documents
                Federal Register NoticesEnforcement
  

        
              Adjudication Decisions
                Civil Penalties
                Uniform Fine AssessmentTopics
  

        
              Medical
                National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
                Exemptions
                Petitions for Rulemaking
                Petitions for Reconsideration
                Drug & Alcohol Testing
                Hours of Service
                New Entrant Safety Assurance Program
                Electronic Logging Devices (ELD)
                ADA Requirements for Over-the-Road Bus Companies
                Cargo SecurementRegistrationRegistration
  

        
              Do I Need a USDOT Number?
                Daily Register / Certificates / Letters
                Learn About Registration RequirementsMain Menu - Registration - Registration 2
  

        
              Apply for a New USDOT Number and/or Authority
                Update My USDOT Number and/or Authority
                FMCSA Contact CenterCDLCommercial Driver's License
  

        
              Licensing Overview and Resources
                Military Driver ProgramsMain Menu - CDL - CDL 2
  

        
              Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot (SDAP)
                State ResourcesSafetyMain Menu - Safety -1
  

        
              Passenger Carrier and Bus Safety
                Our Roads, Our SafetyR
                Household Goods - Protect Your Move
                Report a Violation
                Company Safety Data
                CertificationMain Menu - Safety -2
  

        
              International Safety
                Hazardous Materials Safety
                Driver Safety
                Carrier Safety
                Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety
                Coercion/HarassmentResearchAnalysis, Research, & Technology
  

        
              Overview
                Tech-Celerate Now
                Crash Causal Factors Program (CCFP)
                Active Research Projects
                Reports and PublicationsData and Statistics
  

        
              Safety Progress Report
                Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics
                Large Truck and Bus Crash FactsNewsNews
  

        
              Newsroom
                Emergency Declarations
                Press Releases and AnnouncementsConnect with us
  

        
              FMCSA on Facebook
                FMCSA on Handshake
                FMCSA on Linkedin
                FMCSA on Medium (Blog)
                FMCSA on X (formerly Twitter)
                FMCSA on YouTube
                DOT on YouTubeMenu Home
                        FOIAIn This Section
        FOIA Requests
                                Overview
                Make a Request
                Fees
                Appeals
                Exemptions
                Confidential Business Information
                FOIA Electronic Reading Room
                                Overview
                Final Opinions/Orders
                Staff Manuals
                Frequently Requested Records
                Policy Statements
      
   Contact Us
      Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
      
                          
            FOIA Team MC-MMI
      
                    
            1200 New Jersey Avenue SEWashington, DC 20590United States
      
          
    **Email:**FOIA2@dot.gov**Phone:** 202-366-2960**Fax:** 877-561-2855**Business Hours:**9:00am-5:00pm ET, M-F
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
                
                FOIA Exemptions
    

    
    
          The FOIA protects certain agency records from public disclosure, under nine exemptions contained in the FOIA statute. If an agency record is requested and it contains information that is protected from disclosure under one or more of the nine exemptions, the agency may withhold that record. If the agency determines, however, that the protected portions can be segregated from the unprotected portions of the record, the agency will make available to the requester a redacted version of the document.It is the policy of the agency to make records available to the public to the greatest extent possible, in keeping with the spirit of the FOIA, while at the same time protecting sensitive information. The following is a list of FOIA exemptions which apply to Government information in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(b):(b)(1) Exemption 1 Classified Secret Matters or National Defense or Foreign Policy. This exemption protects from disclosure national security information concerning the national defense or foreign policy, provided that it has been properly classified in accordance with the substantive and procedural requirements of an executive order.(b)(2) Exemption 2 Internal Personnel Rules and Practices. 
This exemption exempts from mandatory disclosure records "related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency." Courts have interpreted the exemption to encompass two distinct categories of information:(a) internal matters of a relatively trivial nature--sometimes referred to as "low2" information; and(b) more substantial internal matters, the disclosure of which would risk circumvention of a legal requirement--sometimes referred to as "high 2" information.(b)(3) Exemption 3 Information Specifically Exempted by Other Statutes. 
This exemption incorporates the disclosure prohibitions that are contained in various other federal statutes. As originally enacted in 1966, Exemption 3 was broadly phrased so as to simply cover information "specifically exempted from disclosure by statute." The new Exemption 3 statue prohibits agencies from releasing under the FOIA any proposal "submitted by a contractor in response to the requirements of a solicitation for a competitive proposals," unless that proposal "is set forth or incorporated by reference in a contract entered into between the agency and the contractor that submitted the proposal."(b)(4) Exemption 4 Trade Secrets, Commercial or Financial Information. 
This exemption protects "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential." This exemption is intended to protect the interest of both the government and submitter of information.(b)(5) Exemption 5 Privileged Interagency or Intra-Agency Memoranda or Letters. 
This exemption protects "inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums of letters which would not be available by law to a party ...in litigation with the agency." As such, it has been construed to "exempt those documents, and only those documents, normally privileged in the civil discovery context."(b)(6) Exemption 6 Personal Information Affecting an Individual's Privacy. 
This exemption permits the government to withhold all 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." This exemption cannot be invoked to withhold from a requester information pertaining to the requester.(b)(7) Exemption 7 Investigatory Records Compiled for Law Enforcement Purposes. 
As amended, this exemption protects from disclosure records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes.(b)(7) Exemption 7(A) Records or Information That Could Reasonably by Expected to Interfere With Enforcement Proceedings. 
This exemption authorizes the withholding of "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that production of such law enforcement records or information ... could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings."(b)(7) Exemption 7(B) Disclosure Which Would Deprive a Person of a Fair Trial or an Impartial Adjudication. 
Records that would prevent prejudicial pretrial publicity that could impair a court proceeding, protects "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes [the disclosure of which] would deprive a person of the right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication."(b)(7) Exemption 7(C) Personal Information in Law Enforcement Records. 
This exemption provides protection for personal information in law enforcement records. This exemption is the law enforcement counterpart to Exemption 6, providing protection for law enforcement information the disclosure of which "could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."(b)(7) Exemption 7(D) Identity of a Confidential Source. 
This exemption provides protection for "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes [which] 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."(b)(7) Exemption 7(E) Circumvention of the Law. 
This exemption affords protection to all law enforcement information which "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."(b)(7) Exemption 7(F) Physical Safety to Protect a Wide Range of Individuals. 
This exemption permits the withholding of information necessary to protect the physical safety of a wide range of individuals. Whereas Exemption 7(F) previously protected records that "would ...endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel," the amended exemption provides protection to "any individual when disclosure of information about him or her "could reasonably be expected to endanger [his/her] life or physical safety."(b)(8) Exemption 8 Records of Financial Institutions. 
This exemption covers matters that are "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."(b)(9) Exemption 9 Geographical and Geophysical Information Concerning Wells. 
This exemption covers "geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.
      
    
          Last updated: Wednesday, January 8, 2014 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

**Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration**

1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE, SE

WASHINGTON, DC 20590

1-800-832-5660Subscribe to email updates
                    About
  

        
              About FMCSA
                Regulations
                Safety
                Analysis
                FMCSA PortalNews and Events
  

        
              FMCSA Newsroom
                Press Releases
                Emergency DeclarationsResources
  

        
              Career Center
                Resources for Carriers
                Resources for Consumers
                Resources for Drivers
                Forms
                Contact Us
                Trending TopicsPolicies, Rights, Legal
  

        
              About DOT
                Budget and Performance
                Civil Rights
                FOIA
                Information Quality
                No FEAR Act
                Office of Inspector General
                Privacy Policy
                Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
                USA.gov
                Web Policies and Notices
                Web Standards