The FBI’s FOIA Processing Manual – aka “The Green Book”

Background

“The Green Book” is a set of guidelines for agency officials in charge of responding to FOIA requests, specifically about the proper procedures for processing requests for FBI documents or documents from any other agency under the purview of Department of Justice. The Green Book also contains volumes of numbered memos from directors and other officials in the agency’s FOIA department, instructing FOIA officials on how to respond to requests regarding certain procedures the FBI conducts, organizations under surveillance by the agency, and other persons and events of interest.

I first requested this back in June of 2016, and the FBI offered a public Department of Justice (DOJ) guidebook for processing FOIA requests. I knew this was not the document I was looking for. In November of 2015, The Public Record published an article detailing the fact the FBI told them they were unable to find the document, after processing their FOIA request. So, I knew the FBI did not want to let go of this record easily. I filed another request in September of 2016, with more clarity, making sure they knew the previous “responsive document” was not what I was seeking. I did not appeal that original request, but rather filed a new one, since I felt maybe I was not specific enough, so a new FOIA request was warranted over appealing something that may have been a misunderstanding.

It took until September of 2018, for the FBI to release the document. You can now find it below:

Document Archive

The FBI’s FOIA Processing Manual – aka “The Green Book” [199 Pages, 65.8MB]

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