Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Annual backlog, FY2014–FY2025
Pending requests at end of each fiscal year (Oct 1, 2013 – 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 20 quarters of received, processed, and backlog. Most recent: FY2026 Q2 (Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2026).
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 | 2017-07-27 | 2,024 | 8.2 |
| #2 | 2017-08-16 | 2,010 | 8.1 |
| #3 | 2017-10-04 | 1,976 | 8.0 |
| #4 | 2018-11-16 | 1,669 | 6.9 |
| #5 | 2019-04-23 | 1,595 | 6.4 |
| #6 | 2020-07-12 | 1,292 | 5.2 |
| #7 | 2022-08-01 | 785 | 3.2 |
| #8 | 2023-03-31 | 622 | 2.5 |
| #9 | 2023-09-14 | 507 | 2.0 |
| #10 | 2023-09-14 | 507 | 2.0 |
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 | 122 | 143 | 68 |
| FY2024 | 130 | 69 | 89 |
| FY2023 | 50 | 39 | 24 |
| FY2022 | 41 | 39 | 13 |
| FY2021 | 29 | 28 | 12 |
| FY2020 | 29 | 27 | 15 |
| FY2019 | 23 | 20 | 13 |
| FY2018 | 28 | 26 | 10 |
| FY2017 | 35 | 27 | 9 |
| FY2016 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| FY2015 | 11 | 12 | 0 |
| FY2014 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
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