FOIA Ombuds Observer
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers dispute resolution services to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requesters and agencies. This function allows OGIS to observe and examine the interactions between requesters and agencies across the Federal government, and note common questions and issues that arise in the FOIA process. The FOIA Ombuds Observer addresses questions and issues frequently seen in our individual cases. Our goal is to increase efficiency and transparency in the FOIA process.
Issue
- No. 2026-04: FOIA Terms of Art: Fee Requester Categories and Fee Waivers (March 19, 2026)
- No. 2026-03: FOIA Terms of Art: Routing, Referrals and Consultations (March 18, 2026)
- No. 2026-02: FOIA Terms of Art: Not Reasonably Described and Unduly/Overly Burdensome (March 17, 2026)
- No. 2026-01: FOIA Terms of Art: Unusual Circumstances and Exceptional Circumstances (March 16, 2026)
- No. 2025-02: Using FOIA to Access Intelligence Community Records (December 9, 2024)
- No. 2025-01: Estimated Dates of Completion Challenges Symptom of Larger Delay Issue (October 30, 2024)
- No. 2024-01: NCND/Glomar: When Agencies Neither Confirm Nor Deny the Existence of Records (March 29, 2024)
- No. 2023-02: Using FOIA to Access Immigration Records (September 18, 2023; updated March 17, 2026)
- No. 2023-01: Decommissioning of FOIAonline (May 19, 2023)
- No. 2020-01: Estimated Dates of Completion: Best Practices for Requesters (March 31, 2020)
Archived Issues
- No. 2018-01: Using FOIA to Access Immigration Records, Companion (September 26, 2018 - replaced by 2023-02)
- No. 2018-01: Using FOIA to Access Immigration Records (August 29, 2018 - replaced by 2023-02)
