DOJ’s FOIA Backlog Rose to 29,308 Requests Despite New Disclosures

The Justice Department posted selected records in its FOIA Library in July, including records concerning former Attorney General Merrick Garland, Gen. Mark Milley and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. But those disclosures do not change the department’s latest overall backlog figure: DOJ said pending individual FOIA requests rose sharply during the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2025.

DOJ’s 2026 Chief FOIA Officer’s Report, published April 22, 2026, says the department’s request backlog increased from 21,567 at the end of fiscal year 2024 to 29,308 at the end of fiscal year 2025. That is an increase of 7,741 pending requests.

The distinction matters for anyone waiting for a specific record. A document appearing in a FOIA library is a proactive disclosure of material that has already been processed; it is not a department-wide measure showing that individual requests are being answered faster or completely.

What DOJ received and processed

DOJ received 159,743 FOIA requests during fiscal year 2025 and responded to 147,588, according to the report. The department said the number of requests received rose 20.5% from the prior fiscal year, while a growing share of requests became more complex.

DOJ administers FOIA on a decentralized basis through 32 separate offices. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, or EOIR, received 102,922 requests—64.43% of the department’s total. The report’s rounded component chart displays EOIR at 66%.

EOIR’s volume is tied largely to immigration-record requests, so its workload should not be read as equivalent to the FBI’s or the Office of Information Policy’s. The FBI accounted for 14% of requests in the component distribution and handles a different mix of records and review issues.

Why the backlog grew

DOJ attributed the increase to several pressures: higher request volume, greater complexity, reduced staffing, limited technology resources and the effect of litigation on processing.

The department said it nearly processed as many requests as it received, but that was not enough to prevent the pending total from growing. The backlog also was not uniform across DOJ. Twenty-two components either had no backlog, reduced their backlog or increased it by fewer than 100 requests.

The largest backlogs were concentrated in a smaller group of components, including EOIR, the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons and the Office of Information Policy. The report’s chart shows the agency-wide total rising even as some components reduced their own pending work.

Some measures improved

DOJ reported progress in several categories. The average processing time for simple-track requests fell to 18.13 days in fiscal year 2025, compared with 72.24 days in fiscal year 2024. About 67.08% of requests processed were categorized as simple, and 21 components processed their simple requests in an average of 20 days or less.

The department also closed 25 of its 30 longest-outstanding requests, consultations and appeals from the prior reporting period. Those results show that DOJ moved some categories of work more quickly even while the overall number of pending requests increased.

The simple-track average does not mean every request was completed within the statutory deadline. Complex requests, appeals, consultations and litigation-related matters can require different forms of review and take longer.

What the online library does—and does not—show

DOJ’s Office of Information Policy says its FOIA Library includes documents disclosed in full or with redactions pursuant to previous FOIA requests. The office posts frequently requested records and other processed documents likely to interest the public, along with selected FOIA logs.

The library lists recent postings on July 6, July 15, July 16, July 22 and July 23, 2026. Examples include records concerning Clarence Thomas and Virginia Thomas; emails from Pardon Attorney Edward Martin; policy documents related to deliberative-process withholdings; records relied on by Attorney General Merrick Garland; and records concerning a meeting between Garland and Gen. Mark Milley.

Those postings can help readers determine whether records on a subject have already been processed before submitting a new request. They may also reduce duplicate requests for records that have already been released.

But an online posting does not establish that every related requester received the same records, that all responsive records were released or that another DOJ component has completed its review. The library is evidence of selected proactive disclosure, not a current annual measure of DOJ’s overall response speed or completeness.

What DOJ says comes next

DOJ says its backlog-reduction efforts include hiring personnel, making greater use of technology, improving processes and providing targeted training. The report also describes efforts to improve case-management systems, focus on older requests and explore technology that could make document review more efficient.

Broader federal oversight points to why those efforts matter: a June 2026 Government Accountability Office review of the National Guard Bureau found that staffing, communication, training and guidance challenges affected timely FOIA processing. That review concerned the Defense Department, not DOJ, and does not establish that DOJ’s figures are inaccurate.

The next meaningful accountability test will be DOJ’s next annual reporting cycle and its interim quarterly data. The key question is whether staffing, technology and workflow changes reduce the 29,308-request backlog while preserving the completeness and quality of records reviews.

Sources

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