pending federal FOIA requests as of March 31, 2026
Across the 10 largest stable-filing agencies · FY2026 Q2 · FOIA.gov quarterly reports
The highest level on record across the 10 largest stable-filing federal agencies — a reversal of the Biden-era catch-up that had drawn the pile back near its FY2021 starting level. Another 28 agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, last filed a quarterly report between April and December 2025 and have not filed since.
The pile, over time
Combined backlog of the 10 largest stable-filing agencies, every quarter from FY2021 to today.
The pile climbed through Biden’s first half, dropped back near its FY2021 starting level by mid-2024 as agencies caught up, then climbed to a new high through the first five quarters of the Trump administration.
Sum of pending FOIA requests across 10 agencies (DOJ, DoD, HHS, DOT, EEOC, Labor, SEC, Interior, EPA, Education) — every one filed every quarter from FY2021 Q1 through FY2026 Q2.
Source: FOIA.gov Quarterly Report API. Retrieved May 5, 2026. DHS stopped filing after FY2025 Q3. Download data (CSV)
Which agencies moved
Per-agency change in FOIA backlog from the last full quarter before Trump took office to today.
Each line is one agency from Oct–Dec 2024 (the last full quarter before Trump) to Jan–Mar 2026 (the most recent published quarter). Lines slanting up mean the pile grew; down means the agency caught up.
Showing top 10 of 99 reporting agencies, by absolute change. Hover any line for the full per-quarter trajectory.
Each row shows one agency’s pending FOIA backlog at the close of Oct–Dec 2024 (top bar, FY2025 Q1) versus the close of Jan–Mar 2026 (bottom bar, FY2026 Q2). Tap any agency for its full history.
Five years of quarterly backlog data for each of the 10 largest filers, side by side.
One panel per agency, FY2021 Q1 (Oct 1 – Dec 31, 2020) through FY2026 Q2. The percentage on each panel is the change from the first quarter to the most recent. Click an agency for its full history.
Biden (through Jan 19, 2025)Trump (from Jan 20, 2025)Inauguration, Jan 20, 2025Each panel scaled to its own range. Window: FY2021 Q1 – FY2026 Q2.
Source: FOIA.gov Quarterly Report API. Retrieved May 5, 2026. Each panel uses its own y-scale so the shape reads at a glance; the number above the line carries the comparison. For history before FY2021 see the the agency directory.
Why the pile is growing
Requests are coming in faster than agencies are closing them.
Top 12 agencies by request volume during the Trump administration (FY2025 Q1 onward), with cumulative received vs. cumulative processed. Dark = received, green = processed. The “closed/received” column is that ratio — anything below 100% means the queue grew.
Closed / received = processed ÷ received across FY2025 Q1 through the most recent quarter. 100% means the agency closed exactly as many as it received. Below 100% means the queue grew. Above 100% means it’s closing old requests faster than new ones arrive.
Of the 12 highest-volume agencies on the list, 12 closed fewer requests than they received over the five quarters. The widest gap was at U.S. Department of State, which processed 79% of what came in.