The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) offices at the Bureau of Land Management are continuing to process FOIA requests to the best of their ability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To keep employees healthy and safe, the Department is maximizing telework flexibility and employing social distancing protocols. As a result of these precautions, most employees are working remotely and unable to collect hard copy records located in government facilities at this time. If your request is for hard copy records, the response to your request will very likely be delayed.
In addition, employees may not receive FOIA requests that are sent by U.S. mail, overnight mail services, or facsimile in a timely manner. We recommend, therefore, that requesters submit requests through the Department’s online portal at https://www.doi.gov/foia/foia-request-form or the government-wide portal at https://www.foia.gov.
Freedom of Information Act
BLM FOIA Program
The Freedom of Information Act or FOIA provides the public the right to request access to Bureau of Land Management records. The BLM will disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.
Before Submitting a FOIA Request
Before making a request, first look to see if the information you are interested in is already publicly available. You can find a lot of useful information on a range of BLM topics on our website. You can also search our FOIA Reading Room for frequently requested information we have already posted online.
How to Make a FOIA Request
If the information you want is not publicly available, you can submit a FOIA request to the BLM’s FOIA Office. The request simply must be in writing and reasonably describe the records you seek. We can only accept FOIA requests electronically by the FOIA Request Form or visiting FOIA.gov. You can find more details about making a request on our How to Make a FOIA Request page.
FOIA Fees
There is no initial fee required to submit a FOIA request, but the BLM is authorized to charge fees to requesters in order to recover the direct costs of search, review and duplication of requested records. If the total costs of supplying the requested information are less than $50, we will waive any applicable fees. If the total costs will exceed $250, you may be required to pay before we begin the search.
Frequently Asked Questions
We've compiled answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question that you don't see listed, please feel free to contact us.