FOIA Advisor

ICYMI, OGIS still interested in "still interested" letters

FOIA News (2015-2023)Allan BlutsteinComment

OGIS Is Yet Again Interested in “Still Interested” Letters

By Office of Gov’t Info. Serv., The FOIA Ombudsman, Aug. 22, 2022

As federal agencies approach the end of fiscal year 2022 in September, we know many are aiming to close old FOIA requests and reduce their FOIA backlogs. Some have begun to send requesters “still interested” letters to ensure that the information in a FOIA request is still being sought by the requester from the agency.

The Office of Information Policy (OIP) guidance on the issue advises agencies about “being mindful” in regard to the timelines for requesters to respond and indicate their level of interest. OIP updated this guidance in 2015 and included a series of procedures that agencies should use when sending “still interested” letters.

Read more here.