Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
The U.S. federal law giving the public a right to request access to federal agency records, subject to nine specific exemptions protecting interests such as national security and privacy.
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) establishes a public right of access to the records of U.S. federal agencies. It presumes disclosure: an agency must release requested records unless the information falls within one of nine exemptions (covering national security, personal privacy, law enforcement, certain commercial information, and others), and even then must release any reasonably segregable non-exempt portion.
A FOIA request flows through intake, search, review, redaction, and release, with appeal rights if access is denied. Every U.S. state has an analogous public-records law. Because an agency can only disclose what it can find, sound records management is the foundation of timely, complete FOIA responses.