Track Your Request
Where each agency posts status, and what to do when the clock runs out.
Online tracking portals
Most agencies provide an online portal where you can see the status of a pending request. After you file, save the case number (also called "request ID" or "tracking number") — that's what you'll search for.
Multi-agency portal. Covers EPA, DOC, NARA, MSPB, and others. Lets you check status across multiple requests in one place.
FBI's electronic submission and tracking portal. Status updates appear within 24-72 hours of any change.
CIA's online submission. Status checked via email correspondence with case officer.
Status visible in the requester portal after creating an account.
DOJ tracks per-component; ask the original FOIA office for status.
If the portal doesn't update
Some agencies update portals reliably; others let cases sit for months with no visible change. If you've heard nothing in 30+ days:
- Email the FOIA office that confirmed your request, citing the case number, and ask for a status update. One sentence is enough.
- If no response in 2 weeks, send a follow-up referencing the agency's 20-business-day statutory deadline under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(i).
- If still no response, you have a constructive denial and can move to OGIS mediation or appeal.
What "constructive denial" gives you
When an agency misses the 20-day deadline (or 30 days with a valid "unusual circumstances" extension), the law treats it as if they denied you. You then have the right to:
- File an administrative appeal immediately, without waiting for an actual denial letter.
- Skip directly to OGIS mediation.
- Sue in federal court (FOIA's exhaustion requirement is considered met).
Most requesters never use this lever, but agencies know it exists. A polite email citing "constructive denial" often unsticks a long-pending request.
FOIA.gov annual reports
Every federal agency publishes an annual FOIA report. You can compare your case's age against the agency's median processing time for similar requests at FOIA.gov ↗.
If your case has been pending longer than the agency's own published median, that's evidence of unreasonable delay that strengthens any appeal or litigation.
Keep your own log
For any active requester, a small spreadsheet pays dividends:
- Case number, agency, date filed, date acknowledged
- Date of any agency communication
- Date of expected response (filed + 20 business days)
- Status (open / response received / appealed / closed)
- Topic — so you can correlate releases across cases later
Future versions of DeclassDB will include built-in request tracking; for now, a Google Sheet works.
DeclassDB
FOIA search is fragmented and keyword-only. DeclassDB unifies seven federal archives — CIA CREST, FBI Vault, NSA, State, NARA, DoD, NSArchive — and adds AI semantic search, so you can find what you mean, not just what you typed.
AI semantic search
Find by meaning across 309,708 CREST documents (1.05M pages, full-text). The embedding model runs in your browser — no cloud round-trip. Pro & Researcher.
One query, every agency
Unified, blended, de-duplicated across seven federal sources. CIA / FBI / State always free; NSA / NARA / DoD / NSArchive unlocked on Pro.
Privacy-first by design
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