About FOIA

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 USC 552, serves as the vehicle to obtain federal agency records, unless the records (or any portion thereof) are protected from disclosure by one of FOIA's nine exemptions or one of its three special law enforcement record exclusions. EOUSA processes records maintained by the United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, the EOUSA components, and the Office of Tribal Justice. The ninety-three United States Attorneys nationwide are responsible for handling litigation affecting the interests of the United States, including the prosecution of criminal cases and the defense of civil cases, and for the conduct of grand jury proceedings. These offices maintain records on their legal cases, criminal investigations, and citizen complaints, as well as records relating to the administration of the office. Legal case files are not indexed or centralized in Washington, D.C., but are located in the office of the United States Attorney who handled the case. Accordingly, requests for United States Attorney records should be sent to the Washington, D.C. address above and should indicate the particular judicial district or city in which the matter was handled. The usual administrative and personnel records are maintained in headquarters offices in Washington, D.C. as well.

Please be advised that the Department has a decentralized system for processing FOIA requests and each component maintains and handles FOIA requests for its own records. Accordingly, you need to direct your letter to the Department component(s) you believe have records pertaining to the subject of your request. Additional information regarding the Department's administration of the FOIA, including a listing of Department of Justice components, the types of records each maintains, and their FOIA contact information, is available at www.justice.gov/oip/foia-request.html.

About the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 USC 552a, serves as the vehicle whereby individuals can gain access to information about themselves that is maintained in a system of records under the control of a federal agency. If you are requesting records about yourself  or records contained in a Privacy Act system of records please attach the required consent and proof of identity documents to your request before submitting.