FOIA/Privacy Act

Freedom of Information Act

The resources on these pages are provided to aid in finding answers to your questions about programs of the Department of Energy and to obtain information that is publicly available without submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. If the information is not available here, you may then submit a Freedom of Information Act request electronically.

To assist obtaining publicly available information, we suggest you first conduct a search on the specific topic or information you are seeking using the SEARCH function on the DOE Home Page. If you can determine which DOE Program Office or Field Operations Sites might have the needed information, you can proceed to that location's Public Reading Facilities using the FOIA Requester Service Centers and FOIA Public Liaisons list. This list provides FOIA Web Page addresses for each location from which Public Reading Facility and DOE FOIA Public Liaison contact information can be obtained.

• The FOIA is a mandatory disclosure statute and applies to "all federal records" [10 C.F.R. § 1004].
• The federal FOIA does not provide access to records held by state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals. Most states, and some local jurisdictions, have their own laws about access to state and local records.
• Although the FOIA is primarily a disclosure law, not all records requested under FOIA are automatically released. The FOIA has provided nine exemptions which allow certain information contained in records or the entire record to be withheld from public disclosure. The exemptions apply to records that are:
  • Exemption 1: Properly classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy
  • Exemption 2: Related solely to internal rules and practices
  • Exemption 3: Specifically mandated to be withheld from public release by statutes
  • Exemption 4: Trade secrets and commercial or financial information which is obtained from a person and is privileged or confidential
  • Exemption 5: Inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, attorney-client privilege information, or attorney work product
  • Exemption 6: Personnel and medical files or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
  • Exemption 7: Investigatory records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, the release of which (a) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (b) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication, (c) could reasonably be expected to constituted an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (d) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (e) would disclose investigative techniques, and/or (f) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
  • Exemption 8: Information contained in or related to certain examination, operating, or condition reports concerning financial institutions
  • Exemption 9: Certain information concerning gas or oil wells

Link to FOIA Reading Room