Announcing Upcoming FOIA Reporting Deadlines

With the start of a new fiscal year, the Office of Information Policy (OIP) looks to the beginning of the FOIA reporting season.  Today, OIP announces the deadlines for the submission of agencies' Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2026 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports, along with updated resources.

These three reports serve a vital role in illustrating the steps taken and the progress made by agencies in administering the FOIA, and provide valuable information about how agencies promote efficiency, make more information available proactively, and use technology to improve FOIA administration.

Agencies are required to submit their Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Reports using the FOIA.gov Annual Report Tool.  OIP has also updated the Department of Justice Annual FOIA Report Handbook, a key resource that agencies should consult when compiling their Annual FOIA Reports.  Agency personnel responsible for completing their agency's report are encouraged to attend OIP's Annual FOIA Report Refresher Training on October 7, 2025.

Agencies should take note of the following deadlines, which are also summarized in Agency Reporting Obligations At-A-Glance, to ensure that they can satisfy all FOIA reporting obligations in the upcoming year:

FISCAL YEAR 2025 ANNUAL FOIA REPORT

November 12, 2025 – Agencies are required to submit their Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Report to OIP for review and clearance through FOIA.gov.

No later than March 1, 2026 – Agencies are required to post the final human readable and NIEM-XML versions of their Fiscal Year 2025 Annual FOIA Report on their websites.

FISCAL YEAR 2026 QUARTERLY FOIA REPORTS

January 30, 2026 – Quarter 1 data is required to be posted.
April 24, 2026 – Quarter 2 data is required to be posted.
July 31, 2026 – Quarter 3 data is required to be posted.
October 30, 2026 – Quarter 4 data is required to be posted.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the Quarterly Reports, please see OIP’s guidance on quarterly reporting (updated October 2021).

2026 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORTS

January 12, 2026 – Deadline for agencies receiving 100 or more requests in Fiscal Year 2024 to submit their 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review and clearance.

February 6, 2026 – Deadline for agencies receiving fewer than 100 requests in Fiscal Year 2024 that choose to report to submit their Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP.

March 16, 2026 – Agencies are required to post their 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports online.

If you have any questions regarding any of the deadlines noted above or the requirements for any of the reports, please contact OIP’s FOIA Compliance Team at (202) 514-3642 (FOIA).  You can also find all of these reporting deadlines on the Reports page of OIP’s website.