eFoia Audit of Washington, D.C.

Web FOIA Compliance: How to FOIA

Government agencies in Washington, D.C., broadly ignore a 2001 law, which requires them to post 10 categories of public records on their websites, according to a public records audit conducted by the D.C. Open Government Coalition in conjunction with the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University.

Click on an agency's name to see more about what information is available on its website.

How to FOIA
Agency What's on the Website Link
Board of Elections and Ethics No FOIA information was found.
Child & Family Services Agency There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
DC Public Library There is no FOIA link on the home page.
Commission on the Arts & Humanities There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
DC Water and Sewer Authority Nothing found.
Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Health There is a FOIA Requests link is on the home page. In addition, two Health Department units, The Health Emergency Health Preparedness and Response Administration and the Health Regulation and Licensing Administration provide links in their unit page indexes to a FOIA Requests page listing their individual FOIA officers. click here
Department of Corrections There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page click here
Department of Employment Services There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Housing & Community Development There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Human Resources There is a FOIA Requests link from the home page. click here
District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles There is no FOIA link on the home page. The information can be obtained only by clicking on Agency Information, then More AgencyInfo, then on FOIA Requests. click here
Department of Parks & Recreation There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Mental Health There is a FOIA Request link on the home page. click here
Department of Real Estate Services Nothing found.
Department of Small and Local Business Development There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
District Department of the Environment There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department on Disability Services There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department A FOIA Requests link is provided on website’s home page. Plus, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services’ annual FOIA reports for 2004-2007 can be accessed by clicking on Information/Privacy link in the left rail. click here
District Department of Transportation There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Metropolitan Police Department There is a FOIA Request link on the home page. click here
Office of Administrative Hearings There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page click here
Office of Cable Television There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Contracting & Procurement There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Employee Appeals There is a FOIA Request link on the home page. click here
Office of Human Rights There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Planning There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Police Complaints There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Risk Management There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the Attorney General There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the Chief Financial Officer There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the Chief Technology Officer There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the City Administrator There is no FOIA link on the home page.
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the District of Columbia Auditor There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the Inspector General There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of the State Superintendent of Education There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office of Zoning There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Office on Aging There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Public Service Commission There is a FOIA link from the Orders & Regulations heading on the home page. click here
Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Washington Convention Center Authority Nothing found.
Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Public Works There is a FOIA link in the About DPW section and also under Contact Us at the bottom of the home page. click here
D.C. Public Schools There is a FOIA link, but it is not easy to find and not specific to the school system. Click on About Us, then Office Directory, then Office of the General Counsel and you'll find a link to the DC Government Resource Center for FOIA. click here
Department of Human Services There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here
Department of Insurance, Securities & Banking There is a FOIA Requests link on the home page. click here


Primary research for this audit was conducted by Howard University journalism students LeeSandra Alexandre and Melissa Noel while interning at the Workshop. The project was edited by Pete Weitzel, who is a board member at the DCOGC and a former managing editor of the Miami Herald. FOIA contact information is from DCOGC.