According to updated data posted on Foia.gov, agencies received 1,199,644 requests in fiscal year 2023, a whopping 29 percent increase from 928,353 in FY 2022. The Department of Homeland Security alone received 674,856 of those requests, or 56 percent, which is on par with recent years.
Further, agencies collectively processed 1,122,166 requests, a 27 percent increase from 878,420 requests processed in FY 2022.
The government’s request backlog increased slightly from 206,720 in FY 2022 to 208,282 in FY 2023. The appeals backlog decreased slightly from 4,709 to 4,646.
Total FOIA costs were $659,719,904, with $610,629,248 in administrative costs and $49,090,656 in litigation costs, all of which were higher than in FY 2022 ($585 million total). Only $2,333,293 in fees were collected from requesters, but this was higher than in FY 2022 ($2,192,645).