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The agency always has the burden of proving (1) that the records in question or any parts withheld are exempt from disclosure and (2) that each document requested either has been produced, is unidentifiable, or is wholly exempt from disclosure.

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Venue

Proper venue for a FOIA action is in the federal district court in which the plaintiff resides, or has his principal place of business, or in which the agency records are situated, or in the District of Columbia.

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Statute of Limitations

The general federal statute of limitations of six years applies to FOIA suits and begins to run once the requester has, or is deemed to have, exhausted his administrative remedies.

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Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

FOIA requesters must exhaust administrative remedies before filing FOIA suits.

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Jurisdiction

United States district courts have jurisdiction to enjoin an agency from withholding agency records and to order production of any records improperly withheld. District courts also have jurisdiction to determine whether an agency has charged excessive fees for a FOIA request and whether the agency has improperly denied a fee waiver request. Courts may also have jurisdiction to review agency failure to publish information required by § 552(a )( 1) and refusal to make information available for inspection and copying under § 552(a)(2).

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II. Judicial Review

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C. Exemptions

FOIA requires that all government records must be published or made available to the public unless they fall into one of the nine enumerated exemptions in § 552(b). The exemptions are not mandatory bars to disclosure, and therefore an agency – unless otherwise prohibited by a more specific statute – may exercise its discretion to disclose exempted information.

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2014 Chief FOIA Officer Report

2015 Chief FOIA Officer Report

2016 Chief FOIA Officer Report

Burden of Proof