Know Your Rights: How to Request Information from the FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) keeps files of certain individuals, including victims in cases and individuals, organizations, and businesses currently or previously under investigation. The Freedom of Information/Privacy Act (FOI/PA) allows United States citizens and lawfully admitted aliens to request information on themselves, or other living persons, and access their FBI files. There are two ways to submit a Freedom of Information/Privacy Act request:

1. Submit your request through the eFOIPA portal, which allows you to electronically request your file and provide a mailing address to the FBI, who will then send your records to you at that address. The eFOIPA portal can be found at https://efoia.fbi.gov/#home
2. Following the instructions on U.S. Department of Justice Certification of Identity Form DOJ-361, submit a letter, sign your request, and have it notarized or state:

That letter then must be mailed to:

• A sample letter can be viewed here: https://www.fbi.gov/services/information-management/foipa/sample-fbi-foia-request-letter

If you have questions about this process before submitting your FOIPA request, please e-mail foipaquestions@fbi.gov – to check on the status of your request, you can contact FOIPA’s Public Information Officer at (540) 868-4593.