The Nine FOIA Exemptions Explained

The Freedom of Information Act rests on a presumption of openness: federal records should be released to the public on request. That presumption gives way only when information falls within one of nine exemptions, and even then agencies must release any reasonably segregable, non-exempt portion of a record.

The nine exemptions

1. (b)(1) National security — information properly classified to protect national defense or foreign policy.
2. (b)(2) Internal personnel rules and practices — records related solely to an agency’s internal personnel rules.
3. (b)(3) Information exempted by other statutes — material another federal law specifically prohibits from release.
4. (b)(4) Trade secrets and confidential commercial information obtained from a person.
5. (b)(5) Privileged communications — inter- and intra-agency records covered by the deliberative-process, attorney-client, or attorney work-product privileges.
6. (b)(6) Personal privacy — personnel, medical, and similar files whose release would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.
7. (b)(7) Law enforcement records — information that could, for example, interfere with proceedings, deny a fair trial, invade privacy, reveal sources, or endanger safety.
8. (b)(8) Financial institution supervision — records related to the regulation of financial institutions.
9. (b)(9) Geological information — geological and geophysical data, including maps, concerning wells.

How exemptions are applied

An exemption is a permission to withhold, not a command. Agencies are encouraged to make discretionary releases where no foreseeable harm would result, and they must always release segregable non-exempt material. When information is withheld, the agency cites the specific exemption relied upon.

Why recordkeeping is the foundation

Exemptions only matter after the responsive records have been found. An agency that cannot locate or trust its records cannot apply the exemptions correctly or meet its deadlines. Sound records management is what makes accurate, timely, and defensible FOIA responses possible. Most states have analogous public-records laws with comparable — though not identical — categories of protected information.