The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that provides public access to information from US government agencies (with the exception of confidential information or that which may endanger national security or law enforcement). The law was enacted in 1966 and it protects your right to information. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to request access to information.
You can request information from federal, state and local government agencies.
A FOIA request can be sent to any federal agency for records in order to disclose information that may be valuable for research, general public knowledge, or even for personal interest.
FOIA En Espanol: https://www.foia.gov/index-es.html
This Guide was initially created by Information School graduate student Abigayle Mazzocco in Spring 2025. It is maintained by the Librarian for Communication & Information, Meryl Brodsky. Please feel free to send me updates or suggestions.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.
