FOIA Appeals

When a requesters' initial FOIA request for documents has been denied, either in part or in whole, or who has received a no records response, or whose request for a fee waiver has been denied, has the right to appeal the denial to the FPAC Appeals and Litigation Division within 90 days after receipt of notification of the denial.

Your appeal must be postmarked or electronically transmitted within 90 days from the date of the denial letter. The term "FOIA APPEAL" should appear on the letter and the outside of the envelope and should be addressed as follows:

Farm Production and Conservation Business Center
Attention: Appeals and Litigation Division
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 5971-S
Washington, D.C. 20250-0570
Telephone: (202) 690-3297
FSAFOIAappeal@wdc.usda.gov

According to Title 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Subtitle A, 1.19(e) Legal sufficiency review of an Appeal, if a component makes the determination to deny an appeal in part or whole, that component will send a copy of all records to the Assistant General Counsel, General Law, and Research Division, that the Office of the General Counsel ("OGC") would need to examine to provide a legal sufficiency review of the component's decision.

Sample Appeal Letter (PDF)