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Freedom of Information Act Program



Recent FOIA News

FOIA Guidance
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Guide for Obtaining Information
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The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives the public the right to request federal agency records and requires federal agencies to proactively make certain records available. This website is the portal to the Department of the Interior's FOIA program.

The organizational structure of the Department's FOIA Program mirrors the decentralized structure of the Department itself. The Department does not have a central location for submitting FOIA requests and it does not maintain a central index or database of records in its possession. Instead, the Department's files are decentralized and maintained by various bureaus and offices throughout the country. DOI's diverse functions and the sensitive, high profile issues with which it deals, generate a large and increasing number of FOIA requests each year.

To make a request for Department records, a requester must write directly to the bureau that maintains those records. A request to a particular bureau (for example, a request addressed to regional or field office) will be presumed to seek only records from that particular bureau, unless the request specifies otherwise.

Direct questions about where to send a FOIA request to the bureau that manages the underlying program or to the appropriate FOIA Public Liaison. 

Address requests to the FOIA contact in the bureau that maintains the requested records after reviewing the FOIA Contacts page.    

 

Disclaimer: To the extent that anything included on the DOI FOIA website may be or could be construed as inconsistent with the law or DOI's regulations, the law and regulations will control DOI's responsibilities under the FOIA. Banner photos credited to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).