Requested
A requester submitted a defined request. This says nothing yet about whether responsive records exist or will be released.
Public records · Declassification · Appeals
Records, FOIA & Classification
The right process depends on what record you seek, which agency is likely to hold it, and whether the material is classified. A request asks an office to search or review; it does not establish that a record exists or that an underlying allegation is true.
Choose the process before drafting the request
| Path | Best used for | What it does not guarantee |
|---|---|---|
| Proactive disclosure or reading room | Records an agency has already published, frequently requested records, reports, datasets, policies, and decisions. | That every responsive record is online, current, complete, or maintained by that agency. |
| Freedom of Information Act request | Existing federal agency records that can be described well enough for the likely custodian to search. | That an agency will create a new record, answer questions, perform research, or release material covered by a lawful exemption or exclusion. |
| Mandatory Declassification Review | Identifiable classified national-security information submitted to the applicable agency for a declassification review under Executive Order 13526. | Declassification, release of every portion, or a conclusion that the material should never have been classified. |
| Automatic or systematic declassification research | Older permanent historical records reviewed under archival and executive-order processes. | Automatic public availability of every page; exemptions, referrals, preservation work, and access rules can still affect release. |
| Administrative appeal | Review of an agency response under the appeal procedure identified in the response letter or governing process. | A different outcome. An appeal record should be evaluated separately from the underlying subject matter. |
Federal FOIA: the practical sequence
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Search what is already public
Check the agency website, electronic reading room, reports, regulations, court filings, datasets, and archived releases first. A public copy may be faster and may reveal the exact office, title, date, or record number needed for a narrower request.
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Identify the likely record custodian
Federal agencies process their own records; there is no single office that handles every federal FOIA request. Address the request to the agency or component most likely to maintain the records.
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Describe records, not conclusions
Use concrete record types, offices, date ranges, subjects, names, identifiers, contracts, case numbers, or correspondence fields. Ask for existing records rather than asking the agency to explain, analyze, or prove a theory.
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Read the response by category
Separate records produced, portions redacted, records referred elsewhere, searches reported, exemptions cited, fee decisions, and appeal rights. Those are different procedural facts and should not be collapsed into one headline.
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Preserve the request and response trail
Keep the submitted language, tracking number, correspondence, scope changes, fee agreements, production dates, appeal deadlines, and released files together so later claims can be traced to the actual record.
Evidence rule: “No responsive records” may mean the searched office found none within the stated scope. It does not, by itself, prove that no record exists anywhere in government, that a record was destroyed, or that a claimed event did or did not occur.
Mandatory Declassification Review
Mandatory Declassification Review, usually called MDR, is a separate path for asking a federal agency to review identifiable classified information for possible declassification. The National Archives’ Information Security Oversight Office explains that a request must be written, sent to the applicable agency, and specific enough for the material to be located with reasonable effort.
- Identify the document or material as precisely as possible, including title, date, document number, originating office, or archival citation.
- Request all reasonably segregable material rather than assuming an entire record must be released or withheld as one unit.
- Do not file FOIA and MDR requests concurrently for the same information; the official MDR guidance identifies that as a limitation.
- Use the agency’s appeal route first. MDR decisions can ultimately be reviewed through the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel when the governing requirements are met.
The existence of an MDR process does not mean all classified material is improperly classified. Executive Order 13526 sets classification, safeguarding, review, and declassification standards and also prohibits classification for purposes such as concealing legal violations, inefficiency, administrative error, or embarrassment.
How to describe the evidence accurately
Located
An agency reported finding responsive material. The reported search scope and custodian still matter.
Released with redactions
A public version exists, but omitted portions and cited authorities must be described rather than guessed.
Withheld or denied
The agency invoked a legal basis or procedural ground. The response, appeal posture, and any later court ruling are separate records.
Declassified
A classification decision changed for identified information. Declassification does not automatically validate every interpretation of the record.
Unverified or unauthenticated
Source, authenticity, context, completeness, or chain of custody is not established. Do not present the material as an official record.
Primary official sources
Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552
The statutory text published by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Information Policy.
How federal FOIA routing works
DOJ guidance explaining proactive searches, component routing, existing agency records, and request limits.
Executive Order 13526
The classification and declassification framework published by the National Archives.
Mandatory Declassification Review guidance
Official process, specificity, limitations, drafting elements, agency responsibilities, and appeal information.
ISCAP decisions
Published final Panel decisions and public information about further review of classification decisions.