FOIA Background/Overview

​The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552 provides individuals the right to access records held by the Federal Government. The FOIA permits the Government to withhold information pursuant to the nine exemptions and three exclusions listed below. 

Note: In order to obtain copies of your medical records, please contact the Medico Legal Office at (301) 469-3331 and indicate that you need a copy of the "Authorization for the Release of Medical Information" form.

Exemptions​

There are certain reasons and occasions that records can be withheld and the reason(s) must be listed within one of the following exemptions of Subpart F. If the reason(s) for withholding the information cannot be supported by one of these exemptions, then the information cannot be withheld and is required to be released to the requester.

FOIA exemptions seek to protect many different interests regarding the following types of information:

1. National defense and foreign policy
   
2. Internal personnel rules and practices
   
3. Records exempted by other statutes
   
4. Trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information
   
5. Internal memoranda
   
6. Clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy
   
7. Law enforcement
   
8. Regulation or supervision of financial institutions
   
9. Geological or geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells
   

Contract Related Documents

If requesting a copy of an awarded contract with associated documents, please note that the NIH routinely redacts certain information from these documents before they are released. More information about these routine redactions can be found here: Information for Requesters who Request Contracts or Contract Related Documents.

How to Make a FOIA Request

Before submitting a FOIA request, individuals should first try to find the information they are seeking in the public domain, e.g. checking with the Office of Research Facilities (ORF) or the Office of Research Services (ORS).

If requesting information involving a contract with the NIH, please include the contract number, approximate date, type of contract, and name of contractor, if available.

NIH/OD/Office of Research Facilities
31 Center Drive
Building 31, 2B37
Bethesda, MD  20892
Tel: (301) 594-9520
​Fax: (301) 594-9522

NIH Reading Rooms

On-Site Reading Room

The NIH On-Site Reading Room (RR) contains a variety of documents originating from several of the Institutes and Centers at the NIH.

The documents are indexed with an identifying number to assist users in locating the document(s) of interest. The Index of Documents is available at this site for your convenience. Documents cited with an asterisk (*) are available for viewing in the RR, located in Building 31, Room 5B35. The hours of operation are 10:00am to 4:00pm - Monday through Friday (closed on Federal holidays).

A copy machine is available for users to duplicate documents. Documents without an asterisk are presently stored off-site and can be retrieved upon request. Please contact the NIH FOIA Office to make arrangements to view one or more of these documents.

Payment of Fees

It is important to note that FOIA allows agencies to recover part of the costs associated with responding to requests. Department of Health and Human Services regulations describe specific rules for fees, requesting a fee waiver, and reducing fees. ​