Statute of Limitations


 * This article is part of a series on Litigation

Introduction
Most lawsuits must be filed within a time period set out by the applicable statute of limitations. The statute of limitations for a FOIA claim is six years. However, a requester may refile their FOIA request to restart the statute of limitations.

Exhausting Administrative Remedies
The statute of limitations begins counting when the requester has exhausted their administrative remedies. Note that payment of fees is not prerequisite for the statute of limitations to begin counting down.

Refiling
If the statute of limitations has expired, a requester will be time barred from bringing a FOIA claim. However, a requester may refile an identical FOIA request to restart the process. The new request will replace, rather than amend, the time barred request.