Office of Management and Budget
Annual backlog, FY2008–FY2025
Pending requests at end of each fiscal year (Oct 1, 2007 – Sept 30, 2025). Federal fiscal year runs Oct 1 – Sept 30, named for the year it ends.
Dashed verticals mark presidential inaugurations.
Recent quarterly activity
Last 17 quarters of received, processed, and backlog. Most recent: FY2025 Q3 (Apr 1 – Jun 30, 2025).
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 | 2017-11-20 | 1,971 | 7.9 |
| #2 | 2017-11-20 | 1,971 | 7.9 |
| #3 | 2017-12-20 | 1,950 | 7.8 |
| #4 | 2018-01-23 | 1,929 | 7.7 |
| #5 | 2018-03-16 | 1,892 | 7.5 |
| #6 | 2018-04-10 | 1,875 | 7.5 |
| #7 | 2018-05-14 | 1,851 | 7.4 |
| #8 | 2018-05-25 | 1,842 | 7.4 |
| #9 | 2018-06-08 | 1,833 | 7.3 |
| #10 | 2018-06-20 | 1,825 | 7.3 |
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)
Annual report history
| FY | Received | Processed | Pending end |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 1,619 | 332 | 2,351 |
| FY2024 | 994 | 493 | 1,064 |
| FY2023 | 315 | 362 | 563 |
| FY2022 | 263 | 323 | 610 |
| FY2021 | 280 | 278 | 670 |
| FY2020 | 438 | 371 | 668 |
| FY2019 | 374 | 293 | 601 |
| FY2018 | 547 | 301 | 525 |
| FY2017 | 463 | 248 | 281 |
| FY2016 | 154 | 151 | 66 |
| FY2015 | 198 | 163 | 68 |
| FY2014 | 152 | 180 | 33 |
| FY2013 | 222 | 181 | 61 |
| FY2012 | 191 | 207 | 20 |
| FY2011 | 188 | 173 | 36 |
| FY2010 | 147 | 141 | 21 |
| FY2009 | 138 | 126 | 17 |
| FY2008 | 136 | 142 | 5 |
Every dataset behind this page is available as CSV. Filter by agency name in your spreadsheet of choice.