The Department of State manages records requests through its Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and the Mandatory Declassification Review programs. You can use these programs to access a variety of Department records. Find out more about these programs and the types of records and information the Department maintains on our FOIA and Other Information Access Programs page.
Before you request records, use one of the Department’s searchable databases to see if the information is already available:
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows the public to request records from federal agencies.
On this website, you can:
What's New?
Frequently Asked Questions
Department of State FOIA/Privacy Act Regulations
Foreign Affairs Manual/Handbooks
Information Access Guide
Open Government Initiative
FOIA Reports
Forms
Major Information Systems