Welcome to the United States Department of Agriculture Freedom of Information Act Public Access Portal

To Submit a FOIA/Privacy Act Request Online

*** New Login Procedures Became Effective January 9, 2026 ***  To submit a request, click Sign In.  You will be prompted to sign in to Login.gov or create an account with Login.gov if you do not already have one.  You will then be redirected back to PAL to finish creating your PAL account profile.  Once logged in to your PAL account profile, you can submit a request, check the status of a request, send a message to the FOIA officer, or download responsive records from a request.  Go to Help / Contact Us for information about using Login.gov.

Helpful Information to Review Prior to Submitting a Request       c

The Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, is a law that provides any person access to agency records, except to the extent that such agency records or portions of such agency records are protected from disclosure by one or more of the nine FOIA exemptions. 

There are certain requirements for making a USDA FOIA request, and in some cases, the records you are requesting may already be posted online. Prior to submitting a request, navigate to the USDA's FOIA website for information about the following topics:

• Requirements and tips for making a USDA FOIA request
• USDA FOIA component reading rooms
• USDA FOIA points of contact
• Prior published USDA FOIA reports
• FOIA resources

If after reviewing the USDA’s FOIA site, you determine that you need to file a FOIA request, we encourage you to submit your request online to facilitate faster processing.