FOIA Search
Search declassified government documents from Freedom of Information Act releases across federal agencies.
What is FOIA?
The Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to access declassified government documents. This tool searches official government FOIA reading rooms and databases for released documents.
Search Declassified Government Documents
About FOIA Document Search
What you'll find: Declassified documents released by federal agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
- CIA intelligence reports and operational documents
- FBI investigative files and surveillance records
- NSA communications intelligence and cryptologic documents
- State Department diplomatic cables and correspondence
- Defense Department military reports and strategic documents
- Historical government records and internal memos
Note: Not all government documents are available online. Some may require formal FOIA requests directly to agencies.
Important Notice About Links
If you encounter broken links, this is a known challenge with FOIA databases:
- Government Sites Change: URLs in government databases frequently change or move
- Try Direct Sites: If a link is broken, try searching directly on CIA.gov/readingroom, vault.fbi.gov, or archives.gov
- Use Keywords: Search for the document title or keywords from the description on the agency's own site
- Contact Agencies: For important documents, contact the releasing agency directly for current links
- Alternative Archives: Try the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine for moved documents