The federal FOIA Advisory Committee for the 2024-2026 term will meet on Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 10am. Meeting materials and a livestream link are here.
FOIA News (2025)
FOIA News: FOIA training for historians
FOIA News (2025)CommentThe Organization for America Historians will host a FOIA training webinar on Friday, September 19, 2025, with presenters from American Oversight.
Historians will learn:
The origins and basics of FOIA
How to craft strong requests
Strategies for navigating agency responses and appeals
Case studies from American Oversight investigations
More details & registration here.
FOIA News: Dep't of Energy sued over still-interested campaign
FOIA News (2025)CommentAmerican Oversight Sues Trump Administration Over Unlawful Effort to Shut Down FOIA Requests
A new DOE policy burdens requesters by demanding proactive, duplicative confirmation of FOIA requests without notice.
Press Release, Am. Oversight, Sept. 3, 2025
On Wednesday, American Oversight filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its unlawful attempt to evade its obligations to answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by requiring requesters to re-confirm their interest in pending FOIA requests — a move by the Trump administration that could result in countless unlawfully closed FOIA requests submitted by media outlets, nonpartisan organizations, and members of the public.
On August 14, DOE announced that those with FOIA requests submitted prior to October 1, 2024, must affirmatively email the agency within 30 days to keep those requests open. Requests that are not “confirmed” risk being closed, regardless of their importance to public interest or how long they have been pending. American Oversight’s lawsuit argues that this unlawful requirement exceeds DOE’s authority under FOIA, violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and undermines Congress’ clear intent that agencies process public records requests in a timely manner.
Read more here.
FOIA News: Save the date for Sunshine Fest 2026
FOIA News (2025)CommentThe second annual Sunshine Fest has been scheduled for March 16-17, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Proposals for panel sessions and speaker suggestions can be submitted through September 22, 2025.
FOIA News: More DOGE fun
FOIA News (2025)CommentFOIA Results Wanted Before Ruling In DOGE Disclosure Suit
By Jared Foretek, Law360, Aug. 26, 2025
A D.C. federal judge said he wants to see how the Trump administration responds to Freedom of Information Act requests submitted in February before deciding on the government's motion to dismiss an environmental group's suit claiming that DOGE teams working in federal agencies have violated transparency laws.
At a status conference Tuesday morning, an attorney for the federal government said some of the agencies that received FOIA requests regarding the activities of the advisory organization known as the Department of Government Efficiency should be formally responding next month. But, he said, the court shouldn't need to wait for the agencies to reply to review its dismissal motion, arguing that the Center for Biological Diversity, the plaintiff, had brought a deficient complaint in the hopes of strengthening it with FOIA responses and discovery later.
"The proper process here is not to file a deficient complaint and then … seek discovery to fill deficiencies in the complaint," Samuel Holt, the U.S. Department of Justice attorney, said Tuesday.
But U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss said that it would save the court time if he took on any FOIA disputes before assessing the government's grounds for dismissal. If a dismissal ruling came first, he said, the court might grant it, only to have the plaintiffs bring an amended complaint using what they got from the FOIA requests.
Read more here (accessible with free trial subscription).
FOIA News: OIP announces FY26 training thru Feb. 4th
FOIA News (2025)CommentOIP Announces New FOIA Trainings Dates for Fiscal Year 2026
By DOJ/OIP FOIA Post, Aug. 25 2025
Today, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) announces new dates for FOIA training during for the first half of Fiscal Year 2026. As part of its responsibility to encourage agency compliance with the FOIA, OIP offers numerous training opportunities throughout the year for agency FOIA professionals and individuals with FOIA responsibilities.
These courses are designed to offer training opportunities for personnel from all stages of the FOIA workforce, from new hires to the experienced FOIA professionals or FOIA managers. OIP will continue to offer virtual training sessions that will be taught in real-time by OIP instructors. We will announce more training opportunities for the spring and summer at a later date. As Fiscal Year 2026 quickly approaches, we are excited to announce our upcoming virtual training courses. You can find these courses listed on OIP’s Training page.
The courses and dates scheduled so far for Fiscal Year 2026 are:
Virtual Annual FOIA Report Refresher and Quarterly Report Training
October 7, 2025
Virtual Chief FOIA Officer Report Refresher Training
October 15, 2025
Virtual Introduction to the Freedom of Information Act
November 5, 2025
Virtual Litigation Seminar
November 12, 2025
Virtual Procedural Requirements and Fees Training
December 2, 2025
Virtual Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
December 10, 2025
Virtual Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
January 13, 2026
Virtual Privacy Considerations Training
January 21, 2026
Virtual Administrative Appeals, FOIA Compliance, and Customer Service Training
January 28, 2026
Virtual Advanced Freedom of Information Act Training
February 4, 2026
Read more here.
FOIA News: As the fiscal year comes to a close, OIP issues more guidance on backlog reduction plans
FOIA News (2025)CommentOIP Issues Guidance on Backlog Reduction Plans for FOIA Offices
DOJ/OIP, FOIA Post, Aug. 22, 2025
The Office of Information Policy (OIP) released guidance this week on the benefits of and considerations for developing and updating agency backlog reduction plans. A request is backlogged if it is pending past the FOIA’s standard 20- or 30-day response timeframes. Developing adaptable and sustainable plans to manage and reduce backlogs is a key part of agency FOIA administration.
The guidance is tailored to address considerations for agencies that are in the process of developing or updating their backlog reduction plans. It explains the importance of involving key stakeholders, tailoring content based on component-specific needs, and obtainable goal-setting and accountability measures. The guidance also stresses the importance of implementing and maintaining agency backlog reduction plans as living documents subject to modification as improvements to processes are made or changes in the law occur over time. By implementing backlog reduction plans, agencies and requesters will benefit from institutionalized best practices of effective FOIA administration.
Read more here.
[Given shrinking FOIA staffs and rising requests, the coming fiscal year is likely to test the limits of even the best-crafted backlog plan. As T.S. Eliot warned, “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”]
FOIA News: DOJ revises "Procedural Requirements" of DOJ Guide
FOIA News (2025)CommentOn August 15, 2025, the Office of Information Policy posted a revised version of the Procedural Requirements section of the DOJ Guide to the Freedom of Information Act. Those looking for recent case citations will be disappointed: the “updated” 94-page section “primarily includes case law, guidance and statutes up until June 30, 2023,” per OIP’s first footnote. True to its word, we found only one case from 2024 (see footnote 227) and none from 2025. The remaining changes are mostly citations to OIP guidance that the office updated in the last two years and to DOJ’s own FOIA regulations.
In the words of Alexander Pope, ‘Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.’”
FOIA News: What I did this summer
FOIA News (2025)CommentStaff Spotlight: My Law Clerkship with OGIS
By Office of Gov’t Info. Serv. FOIA Ombuds, Aug. 19, 2025
The following blog post was written by Hala Shabaneh, the 2025 summer law clerk for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) and a second-year law student at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School.
This summer, I had the opportunity to serve as a law clerk at the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS). OGIS offers mediation services to resolve Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disputes and conducts compliance reviews across federal agencies. From my very first day, I was immersed in the unique legal and policy work that supports transparency and government accountability, and I quickly realized that OGIS occupies a distinctive space in the federal landscape.
Read more here.