Announcing New Annual FOIA Report Tool for Agencies on FOIA.gov and Upcoming Reporting Deadlines

October marks the end of Fiscal Year 2019 and the beginning of the FOIA reporting season.  The Office for Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce that a new tool is available on FOIA.gov for agencies to compile and submit their Annual FOIA Reports to OIP.   

While agencies may continue to submit their 2019 Annual FOIA Reports as they have in the past, OIP encourages agencies to use this newly developed reporting functionality and provide feedback so that we can continue to improve it for next year.    

OIP is updating reporting resources with instructions on how to use this new functionality and will announce on FOIA Post as soon as these new instructions are available.  OIP's Annual FOIA Report Refresher Training, to be held October 17, 2019, will also provide an overview of the new reporting features on FOIA.gov. 

OIP is also announcing the deadlines for the submission of agencies' Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Reports, Fiscal Year 2020 Quarterly FOIA Reports, and 2020 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.  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 should take note of the following deadlines, which are similar to prior years, to ensure that they can satisfy all FOIA reporting obligations in the upcoming year:

FISCAL YEAR 2019 ANNUAL FOIA REPORT

November 18, 2019 – Agencies are required to submit their Fiscal Year 2019 Annual FOIA Report to OIP for review and clearance.

We will soon provide updated guidance on the requirements for completing the Annual FOIA Report and using the new functionality on FOIA.gov. 

FISCAL YEAR 2020 QUARTERLY FOIA REPORTS

January 31, 2020 – Quarter 1 data is required to be posted.
April 24, 2020 – Quarter 2 data is required to be posted.
July 31, 2020 – Quarter 3 data is required to be posted.
October 30, 2020 – Quarter 4 data is required to be posted.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the FY 2020 Quarterly Reports, please see OIP’s guidance on quarterly reporting.

2020 CHIEF FOIA OFFICER REPORTS

January 17, 2020 – Deadline for agencies receiving more than 50 requests in Fiscal Year 2019 to submit their 2019 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review and clearance.

February 14, 2020 – Deadline for agencies receiving 50 requests or less that choose to report to submit their Chief FOIA Officer Report to OIP.

March 9, 2020 – Agencies are required to post their 2020 Chief FOIA Officer Reports online.

For guidance on the requirements for completing the 2020 Chief FOIA Officer Report, please see OIP's 2020 Chief FOIA Officer Report Guidelines.

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.