FOIA Advisor

 Electronic FOIA Reading Rooms

Pursuant to section 552(a)(2) of the FOIA, each federal agency must make four categories of records affirmatively available by electronic means:

(1)    federal agency "final opinions [and] . . . orders" made in the adjudication of cases; 

(2)    specific agency policy statements;

(3)    administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public; and

(4)    records disclosed in response to a FOIA request that "the agency determines have become or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests for substantially the same records"

Typically, agencies fulfill this requirement by posting records in “reading rooms” on their FOIA websites.  We have assembled links to as many agency FOIA reading rooms as we could locate.   

Cabinet agencies

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Department of Veterans Affairs

Other agencies

Administrative Conference of the United States

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

U.S. Agency for International Development

American Battle Monuments Commission

Armed Forces Retirement Home

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Central Intelligence Agency

Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board  

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Council on Environmental Quality

Commission on Civil Rights

Commission of Fine Arts

Committee for Purchase from People Who are Blind or Severely Disabled

Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Corporation for National and Community Service

Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency

Council on Environmental Quality

Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

Election Assistance Commission

Environmental Protection Agency:

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Export-Import Bank

Farm Credit Administration

Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Election Commission

Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council

Federal Housing Finance Agency

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Federal Maritime Commission

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

Federal Open Market Committee

Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council

Federal Retirement Thrift Savings Board

Federal Trade Commission

General Services Administration

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

Institute of Museum and Library Services

Inter-American Foundation

International Boundary and Water Commission

Legal Services Corporation

Marine Mammal Commission

Merit Systems Protection Board

Millennium Challenge Corporation

Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Endowment for the Arts

National Council on Disability

National Credit Union Administration

National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Indian Gaming Commission

National Mediation Board

National Labor Relations Board

National Railroad Passenger Corporation

National Safety Transportation Board

National Science Foundation

Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Office of Government Ethics

Office of Management and Budget

Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation

Office of Personnel Management

Office of Special Counsel

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Office of the United States Trade Representative

Peace Corps

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Postal Regulatory Commission

Presidio Trust

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

Railroad Retirement Board

Selective Service System

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Surface Transportation Board

Tennessee Valley Authority

U.S. Agency for Global Media

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

U.S. International Trade Commission

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board

U.S. Trade and Development Agency

Last updated Sept. 10, 2024