Freedom of Information Act

FBI Records

Updated December 2024

Posted October 2023

FBI Records: The Vault

FBIThe Vault
The Vault is the FBI's electronic FOIA Library, containing nearly 7,000 documents and other media that have been scanned from paper into digital copies so you can read them in the comfort of your home or office.
Included here are many new FBI files that have been released to the public but never added to this website; dozens of records previously posted on our site but removed as requests diminished; files from our previous FOIA Library, and new, previously unreleased files.
The FBI-along with every other government agency-creates and obtains records as it carries out its day to day operations. In the Bureau, these records generally include investigative files, personnel files, and policy guides. A majority of these documents are indexed in our Central Records System - an electronic index that allows Bureau personnel to query requested information. While the CRS contains most of the FBI's records, some of our earliest records were not indexed, and some records have been transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration.
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A large number of FBI records are available for public review on the FBI's electronic FOIA Library (The Vault).

Types of records that the FBI provides electronically on The Vault include, but are not limited to:

Final opinions and orders (no records available at this time)
Agency policy statements
Administrative staff manuals and instructions
Frequently requested records
Proactive disclosures

Records on The Vault are organized alphabetically by name or topic. Users may also locate records by browsing various categories such as civil rights, counterterrorism, popular culture, unusual phenomenon, and violent crime.
If you would rather receive a physical copy of records that are currently available on The Vault, you may submit a FOIA request by fax, standard mail, or through eFOIPA, the FBI's electronic FOIPA portal. Please note that physical copies of these records will be of the same quality as those available on The Vault.

https://vault.fbi.gov/