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 2026 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2027 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2027 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 2026 Annual FOIA Reports using the FOIA.gov Annual Report Tool.  OIP will also soon update 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 14th, 2026. 

This year, OIP will host an additional training to demonstrate FOIA.gov's new Raw Data Validation Tool. This Tool will give agencies a way to upload their raw data csv files into FOIA.gov. The system will then perform a series of logic checks on the data, auto-calculate all required sections, and provide agencies with an XML file to upload into the system. This bypasses the need for agencies to manually enter their data into FOIA.gov. This is optional, and agencies will still be able to manually enter their reporting data. We recommend this tool for all larger, decentralized agencies. Those interested in learning about the Raw Data Validation Tool are encouraged to register for OIP's training on October 21st, 2026. 

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 2026 ANNUAL FOIA REPORT

November 13, 2026 – Agencies are required to submit their Fiscal Year 2026 Annual FOIA Report to OIP for review and clearance through FOIA.gov.

No later than March 1, 2027 – Agencies are required to post the final human readable and NIEM-XML versions of their Fiscal Year 2026 Annual FOIA Report on their websites.

FISCAL YEAR 2027 QUARTERLY FOIA REPORTS

January 29, 2027 – Quarter 1 data is required to be posted.
April 30, 2027 – Quarter 2 data is required to be posted.
July 30, 2027 – Quarter 3 data is required to be posted.
October 29, 2027 – 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).

2027 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORTS

January 11, 2027 – Deadline for agencies receiving 100 or more requests in Fiscal Year 2025 to submit their 2027 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review and clearance.

February 5, 2027 – Deadline for agencies receiving fewer than 100 requests in Fiscal Year 2025 that choose to report to submit their Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP.

March 15, 2027 – Agencies are required to post their 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports online.

Guidelines on the requirements for completing the 2027 Chief FOIA Officer Report will be announced soon.

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 DOJ.OIP.FOIA@usdoj.gov.  You can also find all of these reporting deadlines on the Reports page of OIP’s website.