What should we do if two offices give conflicting answers about whether responsive FOIA records exist?

When one office says responsive records exist and another says they do not, treat the conflict as a signal that the search is not yet complete, not as a tie to be broken by picking the more convenient answer. Under FOIA, an agency is responsible for conducting a reasonable, good-faith search across all locations likely to hold responsive records. A contradiction between offices usually means the search has gaps that must be resolved before any response goes out.

Treat It as One Agency, Not Two Opinions

FOIA obligations attach to the agency as a whole, not to individual offices. The fact that two components disagree does not relieve the agency of its duty to locate and account for responsive records wherever they reside.

• Designate a single coordinating point, typically the FOIA officer, to reconcile the responses.
• Require each office to document what it searched: which systems, custodians, date ranges, and search terms.
• Compare those descriptions directly. Conflicts often come from different scope assumptions, not from records genuinely existing in one place and not the other.

Resolve the Conflict on the Facts

Most disagreements dissolve once the searches are compared side by side.

• If one office searched broadly and another narrowly, expand the narrow search to match the request.
• If records moved, were consolidated, or were transferred between offices, follow them and confirm the current custodian.
• If a system was overlooked or a custodian was missed, search it before concluding records do not exist.
• Check retention schedules: a record properly disposed of under an approved schedule is genuinely gone, and that is a defensible answer when documented.

Document and Be Transparent

Keep a clear record of how the conflict was identified and resolved, including the searches performed and the basis for the final determination. This supports the adequacy of the search if it is later challenged on appeal or in litigation.

When records truly cannot be located after a reasonable search, the agency may issue a “no responsive records” response, but that conclusion should rest on a documented, agency-wide search rather than on one office’s word over another’s. Strong underlying recordkeeping makes these conflicts rarer and far easier to resolve.

For related guidance, see the FOIA and public records hub.