Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

FOIA provides that any person has a right to obtain access to agency records, except to the extent that such records, or portions of them, are protected from disclosure.

Getting Started -- Information for OGE FOIA Requesters

To see OGE’s requirements for making a request, please review OGE’s FOIA Regulation at 5 CFR part 2604. 

  1. Before submitting a FOIA request, please review OGE’s website. OGE routinely posts records so what you are looking may already be publicly available.  
    1. Financial disclosure reports and certain other publicly available documents are not released under FOIA, so be sure to check out the information on Frequently Requested Information Available Without a FOIA Request. 
    2. Previously processed FOIA records and frequently requested items are available in our  FOIA reading rooms. 
  2. The FOIA does not require agencies to do research, answer written questions, or create agency records in order to respond to a request. Accordingly, please make sure your request is framed in a way to direct a search for specific agency records. 
  3. OGE is a micro agency with a very small FOIA staff. To receive your response as quickly as possible, please scope your requests as narrowly as possible. 
  4. FOIA requests should be in writing and include your name and contact information, preferably an email address and telephone number. The request should reasonably describe the records being sought. 
  5. Send your FOIA request to USOGE@oge.gov. If you do not have access to email, you may mail your request to OGE FOIA Officer, Office of Government Ethics, Suite 750, 250 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20024-3249. 
  6. You may track the status of your FOIA requests online. Refer to your FOIA request acknowledgment for the individualized tracking number assigned to the request. 
  7. Please ensure any follow-up communication regarding your request includes the assigned internal tracking number. Doing so will help us to quickly retrieve the details of your request.

Public Financial Disclosure Reports 

Copies of public financial disclosure reports (OGE Form 278e), including periodic transaction reports (OGE Form 278-T), are not available under FOIA, pursuant to FOIA Exemption 3, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3), as material specifically exempted from disclosure by another statute. Instead, the Ethics in Government Act (5 U.S.C. § 13107) and OGE regulations provide for a special access provision for public financial disclosure reports. 

Please note that OGE does not have public financial disclosure reports for all filers. Only the following public financial disclosure reports are available from OGE: 

  • Presidential appointees subject to Senate confirmation (PAS officials).
  • Designated agency ethics officials and certain White House officials. For access to other public financial disclosure reports, please contact the filer’s agency directly.  

Generally, public financial disclosure reports must be destroyed after six years. Older reports are not available. 

You can see what reports are available from OGE by visiting this page. For all other public financial disclosure reports, you must submit a Form 201 request to the agency where the filer was/is employed. 

Conflict of Interest Waivers 

Copies of conflict of interest waivers pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1) and (b)(3) are not available under FOIA, pursuant to FOIA Exemption 3, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(3), as material specifically exempted from disclosure by another statute. The statute, 18 U.S.C. § 208, provides for a special access provision for conflict of interest waivers. You may use the fill and print PDF version of the Form 201 to request copies of 18 U.S.C. § 208(b)(1) and § 208(b)(3) waivers from the agency where the person who received the waiver was/is employed. Although OGE does not release conflict of interest waivers issued to officials employed by other agencies, as of July 18, 2024, we have enhanced our website to provide a searchable list of 208(b)(1)waiver recipients. 

Other Publicly Available Documents 

OGE provides other important Government ethics information online on its website. OGE's published advisories, Congressional correspondence regulatory issuances, and educational materials are all available without charge for viewing and downloading. These materials are accessible electronically without the need to file a FOIA request. Links to many of these publicly available records are below. 

For assistance finding these records or otherwise navigating this website, please send an email message to USOGE@oge.gov. 

You should first review the FOIA-Processed Records Repository before making a new FOIA request, as some records are immediately available for download.

FOIA-Processed Records Repository

Records processed for release under the FOIA, with applicable exemptions, can be found in the FOIA-Processed Records Repository.

Frequently Requested Records

Once a record is requested three times, it qualifies as a Frequently Requested Record and must be available to the public without a request. These records can be found at FOIA-Processed Records Repository and identified as “Popular Topic.”

OGE FOIA Logs

FY 2019 OGE FOIA Log

FY 2020 OGE FOIA Log

FY 2021 OGE FOIA Log

FY 2022 OGE FOIA Log

FY 2023 OGE FOIA Log

FY 2024 OGE FOIA Log

CHIEF FOIA OFFICER

Diana J. Veilleux
Chief
Office of Government Ethics
250 E Street SW, Suite 250
Washington, DC 20024-3249
Telephone: (202) 482-9203
Email: Diana.veilleux@oge.gov

FOIA OFFICER & FOIA PUBLIC LIASION

Jennifer Matis
Associate Counsel
Office of Government Ethics
250 E Street SW, Suite 250
Washington, DC 20024-3249
Telephone: (202) 482-9216
Email: jmatis@oge.gov

FOIA REQUESTER SERVICE CENTER

Sara Nekou
Assistant Counsel
Office of Government Ethics
250 E Street SW, Suite 250
Washington, DC 20024-3249
Telephone: (202) 482-9229
Email: usoge@oge.gov

FOIA REFERRALS

Agency FOIA officials wishing to refer records to OGE for processing should follow these procedures:

  • Records that do not contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or other sensitive information ONLY may be sent to usoge@oge.gov with the subject line "FOIA Referral."
  • Before sending any records that contain, or may contain, PII or other sensitive information, please contact the FOIA Officer at the above number. We will arrange for a secure way for you to transmit the records to OGE.

Copies of OGE's Annual FOIA Reports, Chief FOIA Officer Reports, and Quarterly FOIA Reports are available here. OGE’s Quarterly FOIA Reports after fiscal year 2021 are only available on the FOIA website.