In addition to our guide, here is a list of outside resources that can help with your understanding of FOIA even further. The section is broken down into three distinct types of sources: Government, Civil Society, and University.
Government
Full text of the Official FOIA statute – United States Government
Full text of the Freedom of Information Act as written by Congress. The language is very formal and dense but it still may be helpful to view the original source to clear up any questions.
Overview of the FOIA – Congressional Research Service
Quick three-page guide explaining the basics of FOIA. Provides a succinct high-level overview of all things FOIA. Take a look!
Guide to submitting FOIA requests – US Department of Homeland Security
Step-by-step guide by the US Department of Homeland Security for submitting a FOIA request. This source is great if you are about to / in the middle of submitting a request yourself and have questions regarding the process.
Considerations when filing a FOIA Lawsuit – US Department of Justice
Lengthy document regarding filing a FOIA lawsuit. It goes into great detail about all the things that you should consider before filing a lawsuit and what the legal process would look like. If you are looking to file a lawsuit after your request is denied, this document is for you.
Civil Society
FOIA Basics for Activists – Center for Constitutional Rights
Comprehensive source for all things relating to FOIA. By navigating through the site on the right-hand side, you can look at materials related to every stage of the FOIA request process from overall writing tips, to past appeal letters, and past case studies. This could be a great place to start if you want to read up more about FOIA and potentially become an expert yourself!
FOIA 101: Tips and Tricks – Muckrock
Broken down into a beginner and intermediate/advanced section, Muckrock’s FOIA tips, and tricks site is a great way to supplement your knowledge of FOIA with firsthand testimonials from people who have a lot of experience filing requests themselves.
Encyclopedia for all things FOIA (requests, appeals, and lawsuits) – FOIA project by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Collaborative effort by the TRAC with support from donors and grants to create a comprehensive one-stop shop for everything you need to know about FOIA. In addition to the information sections of the website, this source is unique for the data tools and lawsuits tracker that it offers. On the website, you can see the processing times of different federal agencies, lawsuits by agencies, requests per agency, etc. The lawsuit tracker is still active while the request data stopped being collected in 2020. Despite this, it still is a very useful tool to look at if you are interested in seeing the real-world impact of FOIA.
University
FOIA Description and Overview – UC Berkeley’s Advanced Media Institute
Quick practical overview of FOIA and the overall requesting process. Included are some quick templates, fee information, and writing tips. Great if you are interested in submitting a request yourself.