Memorandum on FOIA Guidelines
Attorney General Garland issued a memo to the heads of all executive departments and company. It provided direction for the fair and effective authority of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland issued comprehensive new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) direction today. These guidelines strengthen the federal government’s commitments to transparency in government operations. They also enhance the fair and effective authority of FOIA.
In addition,
The Attorney General’s Memorandum on FOIA guidelines directs federal departments and company to continue efforts to remove barriers to requesting and accessing government records. They are also encouraged to reduce FOIA processing backlogs.
The direction notes, for example, that the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review is changing a policy. This policy had long required individuals to file FOIA requests to obtain official copies of their own records of immigration court proceedings.
The Attorney General encouraged all company to examine whether they have similar categories of records. They should consider making these more readily accessible without requiring individuals to file FOIA requests.
— What the memo says, how FOIA works, and practical steps to get records
A FOIA memorandum from an agency clarifies how the agency processes requests, conducts searches, applies exemptions, and handles fees and appeals. Below is a practical guide for counsel and clients who need to request records efficiently and effectively.
What a FOIA memorandum usually covers
- Scope & search standards: who and what the agency will search and how “reasonable search” is implemented.
- Exemptions: how exemptions (deliberative process, law-enforcement, privacy, attorney-client) will be applied and when redactions vs. withholdings occur.
- Fees & fee waivers: fee categories, calculation methods, and public-interest waiver standards.
- Appeals & timing: internal appeal steps, expected response windows, and expedited-processing criteria.
- Proactive disclosure: when the agency will post records publicly to reduce FOIA requests.
Practical steps to submit an effective FOIA request
- Specify the custodial office and date range; avoid overly broad timeframes.
- Provide precise search terms, names, case or contract numbers, and email addresses where possible.
- Request native formats and specify output preferences (PDF, spreadsheets, .pst for email exports).
- Include fee-waiver and expedited-processing arguments where justified and attach supporting documents.
- Prepare a fallback narrow request to speed production if the agency deems the first request too broad.
How we help
We draft targeted FOIA requests, file fee-waiver and expedited-processing arguments, manage follow-ups and appeals, analyze exemption logs, and litigate where agencies improperly withhold records.
