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Welcome to the FOIA Wiki!

This free and collaborative resource on the U.S. Freedom of Information Act is provided by the [//rcfp.org Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press], with contributions from (Org A), (Org B), (Org C), (Org D), and users like you. Read more about the wiki and its editing guidelines before you get started.

Table of Contents


 * Introduction
 * Text of the FOIA
 * Legislative History
 * Agency FOIA Regulations
 * Executive Branch Guidance
 * History
 * Current Guidance
 * Affirmative Disclosures
 * (a)(1) requirements
 * (a)(2) requirements
 * Entities Subject to FOIA
 * Records Subject to FOIA
 * Making a FOIA Request
 * Identity of the Requester
 * Procedural requirements
 * Specifying the records
 * Fees and Fee Waivers
 * Submitting the request
 * Fee Categories
 * Commercial entities
 * Educational
 * News Media
 * Other
 * Fee Waivers
 * Expedited Processing


 * Pre-determination agency actions
 * Accepting requests
 * Multitrack processing
 * Searching for records
 * Consultations/Referrals
 * Estimated dates of completion
 * Public liaisons and FOIA officers
 * Pre-determination communications
 * Acknowledgment
 * Status Updates
 * "Still interested" letters
 * Determinations & releasing records
 * Timing
 * Required Contents
 * Segregable Information
 * Format of Records
 * Administrative Appeals
 * Timing of an administrative appeal
 * What can be appealed?
 * Contents of an administrative appeal
 * Timing of the agency response
 * New issues raised by agency on appeal
 * Sample administrative appeals


 * Exemptions from disclosure
 * Exemption 1
 * Exemption 2
 * Exemption 3
 * Exemption 4
 * Exemption 5
 * Deliberative Process Privilege
 * Work Product Privilege
 * Attorney-Client Privilege
 * Other Privileges
 * Exemption 6
 * Exemption 7
 * Exemption 7(A)
 * Exemption 7(B)
 * Exemption 7(C)
 * Exemption 7(D)
 * Exemption 7(E)
 * Exemption 7(F)
 * Exemption 8
 * Exemption 9
 * § 552(c) Exclusions
 * Glomar Responses
 * Waiver of Exemptions
 * Discretionary Disclosure
 * OGIS Services
 * Mediation
 * Compliance Reviews
 * Recommendations/Other


 * Litigation
 * Standing
 * Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
 * Jurisdiction and Venue
 * Statute of Limitations
 * Pleadings
 * Preliminary Injunctions
 * Motions to Dismiss
 * Discovery
 * Vaughn Indices
 * Agency Declarations
 * In Camera Inspection
 * Motions for Summary Judgment
 * Trial
 * Relief and Remedies
 * Attorney Fees
 * Appellate Practice
 * Reverse FOIA Lawsuits
 * Agency Reporting Requirements
 * FOIA and the Privacy Act
 * FOIA and the Administrative Procedure Act
 * Mandatory Declassification Review
 * Major Supreme Court FOIA Cases
 * Additional Resources


 * Index of all FOIA Wiki articles

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