Data through Mar 31, 2026 · updated Jul 16, 2026

Investigating the federal FOIA backlog

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backlogged federal FOIA requests as of March 31, 2026

Across the 10 largest stable-filing agencies · FY2026 Q2 · FOIA.gov quarterly reports

* This is the newest quarter agencies have filed. New data lands on a lag — quarterly reports arrive roughly six weeks after a quarter closes, so FY2026 Q3 (Apr 1 – Jun 30, 2026) is expected around mid-August 2026. Annual reports run further behind: FY2025 published in June 2026.

The highest point in the five-year quarterly series 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 23 agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, last filed a quarterly report between April and December 2025 and have not filed since.

Latest findings

What the newest annual reports show

FY2025 covers Oct 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025. These figures are older but more detailed than the quarterly data above.

Inspect the source data
Government-wide pending
463,541

+18.7% from FY2024 — the highest total in the 18-year series. The bulk release contains agency-overall reports from 117 agencies.

See the annual ranking →
Homeland Security received
1,019,496

The first agency in the 18-year series to cross one million requests in a fiscal year. Its reported FOIA staffing fell 30.5% from FY2024.

Explore DHS →
Veterans Affairs staffing
-36.0%

Reported FOIA staffing fell from 367.4 to 235.2 FTE while pending requests rose +86.2%.

Explore Veterans Affairs →

Source: FOIA.gov bulk Annual Report CSVs. FY2025 was published June 9, 2026. Retrieved July 16, 2026. Comparisons use agency-overall rows from the same annual source; they show what changed together, not what caused the change. FY2025 totals remain partial because not every expected agency had filed.

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.
BidenTrump025.0k50.0k75.0k100k125klow: 76.1kFY2024 Q2125,355pending requestsFY2026 Q2FY2021Oct 20FY2022Oct 21FY2023Oct 22FY2024Oct 23FY2025Oct 24FY2026Oct 25Pending FOIA requests, end of quarter
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 July 16, 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.

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.

  1. 01Department of Justice
    +64.7%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    22,499
    Jan–Mar 2026
    37,052
  2. 02Department of Defense
    +72.1%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    18,797
    Jan–Mar 2026
    32,353
  3. 03Department of Health and Human Services
    +50.7%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    15,960
    Jan–Mar 2026
    24,057
  4. 04Department of Transportation
    +39.6%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    9,962
    Jan–Mar 2026
    13,909
  5. 05Central Intelligence Agency
    +31.8%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    5,372
    Jan–Mar 2026
    7,081
  6. 06Department of Labor
    +54.3%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    2,637
    Jan–Mar 2026
    4,068
  7. 07Department of the Interior
    +24.0%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    4,760
    Jan–Mar 2026
    5,901
  8. 08Department of Education
    +26.8%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    4,066
    Jan–Mar 2026
    5,155
  9. 09Department of Energy
    +35.2%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    2,498
    Jan–Mar 2026
    3,378
  10. 10General Services Administration
    +192.3%
    Oct–Dec 2024
    454
    Jan–Mar 2026
    1,327

Showing top 10 of 99 reporting agencies.

Source: FOIA.gov Quarterly Report API. Retrieved July 16, 2026. Download chart data (CSV)

Trajectories, agency by agency

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.
Department of Justice+7%
37,052backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Defense+86%
32,353backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Health and Human Services+139%
24,057backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Transportation+200%
13,909backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Central Intelligence Agency+169%
7,081backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of the Interior+38%
5,901backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Education+461%
5,155backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Labor+165%
4,068backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of Agriculture+36%
3,785backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Oct 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
Department of the Treasury+35%
3,450backlog,
FY2026 Q2
Jan 1 – Mar 31Jan 1 – Mar 31
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 July 16, 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.

Source: FOIA.gov Quarterly Report API, FY2025 Q1 through Jan–Mar 2026. Retrieved July 16, 2026. Download underlying quarterly CSV

Further reading. The reporting underneath this dashboard.