Freedom of Information Laws: Home

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All 50 states and the federal government have a freedom of information law, or FOIL, requiring government entities to disclose information. The federal law is called the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC § 552, FOIA). FOIA obligates federal executive branch agencies to proactively disclose certain types of information and respond to requests for disclosure of other information. FOIA does not apply to judicial, legislative, or state government units.

FOIA (5 USC § 552) obligates federal executive branch agencies to proactively disclose certain types of information and respond to requests for disclosure of other information. FOIA does not apply to judicial, legislative, or state government units.

Handbooks & Treatises

• Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts (Westlaw)
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Overview (Practical Law)
• Public Information Generally: Access to Public Records; Disclosure of Confidential Information; Open Meetings, Chapter 7 of Administrative Law (Lexis)
• Freedom of Information and Public Records Law (MCLE)  (Lexis)
• U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform: A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records

Government Websites

• FOIA.gov
• Office of Government Information Services

FOIA imposes the obligation to publish certain information even if no one asks for it. Two methods are specified for this proactive disclosure: publication in the Federal Register, or availability "for inspection." Thus, before making a FOIA request it is worth looking at what the agency has already made public.

This information must be published in the Federal Register

• Org chart
• Description of actual function of agency departments
• Procedural rules
• Substantive rules
• Changes to any of the above

This information must be made available for "public inspection" - generally available on the agency's website

• Final administrative opinions and orders.
• Policy statements.
• Administrative procedures and staff manuals that impact the public.

Frequently requested records (generally defined as any record that has been requested three or more times) must also be made available for public inspection. Most agencies make this material available via an electronic FOIA "reading room." Examples follow.

• Department of State FOIA Reading Room
• Department of Homeland Security FOIA Reading Room
• CIA FOIA Reading Room
• FCC FOIA Reading Room
• DOJ National Security Division FOIA Library
• Customs & Border Patrol FOIA Reading Room

FOIA also requires federal agencies to appoint a Chief FOIA Officer and create a process for responding to FOIA requests.Therefore, each agency has its own FOIA request process. The 2016 FOIA Improvement Act requires every agency to maintain a single portal for submitting FOIA requests.

Handbooks & Treatises 

• Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts (Westlaw)
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA): Overview (Practical Law)
• Public Information Generally: Access to Public Records; Disclosure of Confidential Information; Open Meetings, Chapter 7 of Administrative Law (Lexis)
• U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform: A Citizen's Guide on Using the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act of 1974 to Request Government Records

Advocacy Organization Tools

• EFF FOIA How To
• A Step By Step Guide To Completing FOIA Requests With DHS, from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
• MuckRock FOIA 101
• Judicial Watch: Freedom of Information Act and Open Records Law Handbook

Generally

All 50 states have a FOIL law.

• FOIAdvocates: State Public Record Laws
• Practical Law State Public Laws Chart
• Guidebook to the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts (Westlaw)

Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Public Records Law (GL c. 66 § 10(a)), enacted in 1973, is based on FOIA.

Under the PRL, every record produced by a government entity (state, county, and municipal) is presumed disclosable unless exempted by statute or common law privilege. A PRL records request must be addressed to the entity's "records custodian." Requests may be made in person or in writing, and there are "no strict rules" regarding format, but the Secretary of the Commonwealth's website provides a suggested format for written requests.

• MCLE Freedom of Information and Public Records Law (Lexis)
• Mass SOS: Information on the Public Records Law
• Mass SOS: Form Public Records Request Letter
• City of Boston: Public Records

Interstate Limitations

While any citizen can access records from a federal agency, there may be some limitations on interstate access to information from state and local agencies. In the case McBurney v. Young, 133 S. Ct. 1709 (2013), the Supreme Court ruled that state and local governments can deny record requests from out-of-state residents. 

 Suggested Search Terms 

sunshine laws, public record laws, freedom of information, foia, records access

Countries around the world have passed freedom of information laws. These resources may help you begin your research. 

Articles 

Greg Michener, FOI Laws Around the World, 22 J. Democracy 145 (2011).

Mazhar Siraj, Exclusion of Private Sector from Freedom of Information Laws: Implications from a Human Rights Perspective, 2 J. Alternative Persp. Soc. Sci. 211 (2010).

Websites

• ICIJ: How to Unearth Public Records: A Global Guide
• FreedomInfo: Freedom of Information Around the World
• International FOI Laws

Suggested Library of Congress Headings to search in WorldCat:

• Freedom Of Information -- International Aspects
• Freedom Of Information -- Analysis
• Freedom Of Information