Central Intelligence Agency

Most recent quarterly backlog

7,081

End of FY2026 Q2 (Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2026)

Latest annual report

7,055

End of FY2025 (Sept 30, 2025)

17-year change

+810%

FY2009 → FY2025 (Oct 1, 2008 – Sept 30, 2025)

Annual backlog, FY2009–FY2025

Pending requests at end of each fiscal year (Oct 1, 2008 – Sept 30, 2025). Federal fiscal year runs Oct 1 – Sept 30, named for the year it ends.

FY09: 775

FY11: 985

FY13: 1,092

FY15: 1,471

FY17: 2,053

FY19: 2,634

FY21: 2,862

FY23: 4,021

FY25: 7,055

Dashed verticals mark presidential inaugurations.

A note on the figures. Annual and quarterly numbers don’t mean the same thing.

Annual report

Window: full fiscal year, Oct 1 through Sept 30.
Coverage: intended for every reporting agency; the current FY2025 bulk release contains 117 agency-overall reports.
Detail: received, processed, pending, exemption counts (b1–b9), ten oldest, personnel, costs.
“Pending” means: every request still open at year-end, regardless of age.
Freshness: six to nine months after fiscal year end. Latest published is FY2025.

Quarterly report

Window: three months. The latest quarter is shown in the sitewide freshness banner.
Coverage: larger agencies only. About 95 filed before the Trump 2 reporting cliff. DHS filed through FY2025 Q3, then stopped.
Detail: received, processed, backlogged. Three numbers only.
“Backlogged” means:perfected requests open more than 20 working days. Stricter than annual “pending.”
Freshness: usually about six weeks after quarter end.

Why we keep them on separate views.The two “pending” counts use different denominators, so plotting them on a single continuous timeline would misrepresent the underlying change. Within each series, comparisons are clean — quarter-over-quarter, year-over-year. Across series, only the direction of change is comparable, not the magnitude.

Recent quarterly activity

Last 22 quarters of received, processed, and backlog. Most recent: FY2026 Q2 (Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2026).

Backlog

7,081

Received per quarter

999

Processed per quarter

674

10 oldest pending requests, end of FY2025 (Sept 30, 2025)

Agencies report days pending in working days, counted from the day the request was received; the years column converts to calendar years. The longer this list runs, the more litigation-ripe the agency’s backlog.

Rank	Date received	Working days pending	Years pending
#1	2009-01-28	4,180	16.7
#2	2009-01-28	4,078	16.7
#3	2010-11-03	3,718	14.9
#4	2011-04-13	3,626	14.5
#5	2011-05-09	3,608	14.4
#6	2011-05-10	3,607	14.4
#7	2011-05-11	3,606	14.4
#8	2011-05-11	3,606	14.4
#9	2011-05-11	3,606	14.4
#10	2011-08-26	3,531	14.1

Exemption invocations, FY2025 (Oct 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025)

How often each FOIA exemption (b1–b9) was invoked when redacting or denying records. Exemption 5 (deliberative process, attorney-client) is highlighted — it’s the most-fought exemption in FOIA litigation.

FOIA staffing, FY2025 (Oct 1, 2024 – Sept 30, 2025)

Full-time employees

Equivalent FTE

15.3

Total FTE

48.3

Annual report history

FY	Received	Processed	Pending end
FY2025	4,358	2,789	7,055
FY2024	4,087	2,603	5,494
FY2023	2,426	1,567	4,021
FY2022	2,408	2,095	3,168
FY2021	2,837	2,870	2,862
FY2020	2,896	2,622	2,902
FY2019	2,563	2,261	2,634
FY2018	2,726	2,345	2,330
FY2017	2,572	1,988	2,053
FY2016	2,547	2,208	1,469
FY2015	3,618	3,181	1,471
FY2014	3,737	3,795	1,034
FY2013	4,573	4,625	1,092
FY2012	3,745	3,586	1,144
FY2011	3,269	3,164	985
FY2010	3,094	2,989	880
FY2009	2,863	3,112	775

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