Today the Office of Information Policy (OIP) is pleased to announce its summary and assessment of agencies’ 2025 Chief FOIA Officer (CFO) Reports is available for viewing.  OIP’s 2025 summary and assessment focuses on steps agencies have taken to improve FOIA administration in five key areas highlighted in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 2022 FOIA Guidelines:

• FOIA Leadership and Applying a Presumption of Openness;
• Ensuring Fair and Effective FOIA Administration;
• Proactive Disclosures;
• Utilizing Technology to Improve Efficiency; and
• Steps Taken to Remove Barriers to Access, Improve Timelines, and Reduce Backlogs.

OIP encourages agencies and the public to read both OIP’s summary and each agency’s individual report to gain a comprehensive understanding of the various steps taken to improve the administration of the FOIA across the government.

In addition to the summary, OIP’s 2025 assessment provides a broad overview of agency efforts in several key areas of FOIA administration.  The assessment covers those agencies that received more than 50 requests and distinguishes between high and medium volume agencies, using a five-step scoring system to denote agency success for each milestone.  For the 2025 assessment, OIP selected twenty-two milestones for scoring high volume agencies and twenty milestones for scoring medium volume agencies.  The full assessment, including a detailed methodology, is available as both a spreadsheet and PDF. You can read OIP’s 2025 Summary and Assessment of Agency CFO Reports on our Reports page alongside previous summaries and assessments.  

OIP is also issuing new guidelines for agencies’ 2026 CFO Reports, which continue to focus on the five key areas of FOIA administration highlighted in the DOJ’s 2022 FOIA Guidelines.  The 2026 CFO Report Guidelines once again include separate reporting requirements for agencies depending on the number of FOIA requests received in the prior fiscal year.  Agencies that received less than 100 requests in Fiscal Year 2024 are encouraged to report on any efforts or success stories they’ve experienced.  All other agencies receiving 100 or more requests have more extensive reporting requirements.

Agencies that received 100 or more requests must submit their draft 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports to OIP for review by no later than Monday, January 12, 2026.  For the remaining agencies receiving less than 100 requests in Fiscal Year 2024, if they do have information to report, they must provide their reports by no later than Friday, February 6, 2026.  A listing of all agencies with a link to their reporting requirements is included at the end of the Guidelines.  OIP will once again host refresher training on the preparation of the 2026 Chief FOIA Officer Reports.