How do you apply FOIA exemptions and redact a document so the release is defensible?

A defensible release is one you can explain and defend later: every withholding is tied to a specific exemption, every reasonably segregable non-exempt portion is released, and the reasoning is documented. The goal is not to redact as much as possible, but to release as much as the law allows.

Start with the presumption of disclosure

The Freedom of Information Act presumes records will be released. Exemptions are permissions to withhold, not commands, and they are read narrowly. Before applying any exemption, confirm you have located all responsive records — you cannot defend a redaction on a record you never found. Sound recordkeeping makes this possible.

Review line by line and identify the exemption

Read each responsive record carefully and mark only the specific words, sentences, or data elements that genuinely fall within one of the nine exemptions (national security, privacy, law enforcement, deliberative process, and so on). For each redaction, note which exemption applies and why. Where an agency applies a foreseeable-harm standard, be prepared to articulate the harm disclosure would cause, not merely that an exemption technically fits.

Honor segregability

This is the heart of defensibility. You must release any portion that can reasonably be separated from the exempt material. Redact the protected phrase, not the whole paragraph; the sensitive field, not the entire record. Blanket withholding of a full document is rarely defensible when non-exempt content can be segregated.

Redact so the protected content cannot be recovered

• Use true redaction that removes the underlying text, not a visual overlay (black boxes or highlighting) that leaves data extractable from the file.
• Flatten the result so layers, comments, hidden text, and metadata are gone.
• Watch embedded data: spreadsheet formulas, tracked changes, EXIF, and document properties can leak what you meant to protect.
• Verify the redacted copy before release, and retain an unredacted master under proper controls.

Document and mark the release

Indicate where material was withheld and cite the exemption relied on, unless doing so would itself reveal protected information. Keep a record of the decisions made. If the material is also Controlled Unclassified Information, handle it under those marking and safeguarding rules.

Learn more on the FOIA and public records hub. Treat redaction as a documented, repeatable process — that consistency is what makes a release survive appeal or litigation.