Office of Government Information Services (OGIS)
The U.S. federal office, located within the National Archives and Records Administration, that serves as the FOIA Ombudsman by mediating disputes between requesters and agencies and reviewing agency FOIA compliance.
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is the federal FOIA Ombudsman, established within the National Archives and Records Administration to improve how the Freedom of Information Act works in practice. It offers requesters and agencies a neutral place to resolve disagreements short of litigation, mediating disputes over fees, search adequacy, delays, and withholdings. It also reviews agency FOIA policies and procedures, recommends improvements, and reports its findings.
For recordkeeping, OGIS matters because most FOIA conflicts trace back to records practices: whether responsive records can be located, how thoroughly systems were searched, and whether retention and disposition decisions preserved what a requester sought. Strong file plans, metadata, and defensible disposition reduce the disputes that reach OGIS.
A useful distinction: OGIS does not decide FOIA appeals or compel release the way a court can. It facilitates dialogue and offers nonbinding recommendations, complementing rather than replacing an agency’s formal appeal process and judicial review.