Vaughn Index

A Vaughn Index is the structured justification an agency files when it withholds or redacts records in response to a FOIA request and the requester challenges that decision in court. Rather than asserting a blanket “we withheld some records,” the agency must itemize each document or segment, summarize its nature, and tie it to a particular statutory exemption with enough detail for a judge and the requester to test the claim. This shifts the burden onto the agency to prove the withholding is lawful while keeping the actual sensitive content confidential.

The index matters for recordkeeping because it can only be produced if the underlying records are reliably identified, described, and tracked through metadata and a defensible search. Poor recordkeeping makes a credible index impossible. For example, when an agency redacts paragraphs of an email under a deliberative-process exemption, the index might list the date, author, recipients, subject, the exemption claimed, and a neutral description of why disclosure would cause harm. It differs from a privilege log in e-discovery, which serves civil litigation rather than statutory public-access review.