FOIA Work Increases but Still Below Peak

FEDweek, July 27, 2022

Federal agencies both received and processed more Freedom of Information Act requests in fiscal 2021 than they did the prior year but both remained below their peak levels of 2019, according to a Justice Department report.

Agencies received just above 838,000 requests and processed about 500 more than that number, although the number deemed to be backlogged—that is, processed after the 20-day standard for regular requests and the 30-day standard if there are “unusual circumstances”—rose from about 141,800 to about 153,200. Average processing time for standard requests increased by almost 3 days to just under 33, while the average for processing expedited requests fell by about a half-day to just above 13 ½.

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