Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a Federal statute that allows individuals to request access to Federal agency records unless they are protected from disclosure.

What We Do

The Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts Division handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests. We respect the right of the public to access information in OIG's possession, but also protect privileged information.

The Freedom of Information Act generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, to obtain access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records (or portions of them) are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. Our policy is to answer all requests as accurately and completely as possible from existing records.

Submitting a FOIA Request

To respond efficiently, we require all requests to be submitted in writing, by postal service, fax, or email; requests must contain the requestor's postal address and the name of the person responsible for paying any fees that may be charged. A phone number where we can reach the requester to get clarification of the request, or resolve other issues concerning the request, is strongly recommended. Providing the request in writing assures that all the rights provided by FOIA and related regulations are protected.

Please note that settlement agreements with integrity provisions are not electronically available through this website. Rather, copies of such settlement agreements may be obtained through a filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the United States Department of Justice. Information on filing FOIA requests with the Department of Justice may be obtained through its website, found at https://www.justice.gov/oip/oip.html. This FOIA request should be as specific as possible.

Submit a FOIA Request

If you are seeking records on yourself

You must provide a certification of your identity to protect your privacy and to ensure that private information about you is not disclosed inappropriately to someone else. Whenever you request information about yourself you will be asked to provide either a notarized statement or a statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that you are the person who you say you are. In addition to submitting a FOIA Request using the button above, complete the FOIA Certificate of Identity form and email or fax to:

Attention: HHS OIG FOIA Office
foia.oig@oig.hhs.gov
Fax: 202-708-9824

Fees for FOIA Services

Departmental FOIA Regulations allow us to recover part of the costs associated with the processing of FOIA requests. Unless you state a specific fee limit in your request, we will assume that you are willing to pay all the fees incurred in the processing of your request and will not contact you concerning the FOIA fees. Some fees are exempt.

There is no initial fee to make a FOIA request, and in some cases no fees are charged. In your request you may make a specific statement limiting the amount of fees you are willing to pay. We will notify you if it appears that the fees will exceed the limit and ask whether you want us to proceed with the search. If your estimated fees exceed $250.00, you will be given the opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees or you will be asked to express your commitment to pay the estimated amount.

For purposes of fees, the FOIA divides requesters into three categories:

commercial use requesters;
news media, educational, or scientific requesters; and
all other requesters.

Commercial use requesters are charged for search time, document review, and duplication. News media, educational, and scientific requesters are charged for duplication only, after the first 100 pages. All other requesters are charged for search time (after two hours) and duplication (after 100 pages).

FOIA Search Fee Schedule

The reproduction fees are $0.10 per page. The current search and review fees are determined by the General Schedule (GS) Salary Level of HHS employee Hourly Fee, as listed below:

GS 8: < $23
GS 9-14: $46
GS 15: > $83

More detailed information can be found in the HHS FOIA Regulation.

Fee Waivers

You may request a fee waiver for FOIA preprocessing fees. However, fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

The FOIA Fees are detailed in the Department of Health and Human Services FOIA Regulations .

Additional HHS FOIA Service Centers

Each FOIA office in HHS has a FOIA Requester Service Center that processes relevant FOIA requests.