DODD 5400.07 - DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program

Scope

DODD 5400.07 establishes DoD policy and assigns responsibilities for the DoD Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program in accordance with Section 552 of Title 5, United States Code. The directive operationalizes FOIA request processing across the DoD Components including initial denial authority, FOIA appeals, fee schedules, exemptions, public reading room requirements, and annual reporting. The directive replaced the prior regulation-form DoD 5400.7-R.

Audience

DoD Component FOIA officers. Marine Corps S-1 officers, S-1 chiefs, and adjutants processing FOIA requests affecting unit records. Initial denial authorities. FOIA appeal authorities. Public Affairs Officers coordinating media FOIA requests. Legal staff coordinating FOIA exemption review.

Content scope

• DoD FOIA program policy and responsibilities.
• FOIA request receipt, tracking, and routing.
• Initial denial authority designation.
• FOIA exemptions (Exemptions b(1) through b(9)).
• Privacy Act overlap with FOIA (Exemption b(6) personal privacy).
• Public interest test and segregability rules.
• Fee schedule and fee waiver criteria.
• FOIA appeals procedures.
• Annual FOIA reporting to Department of Justice.
• Coordination with the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS).

Connection to Marine Corps policy

• MCO 5400.6 Department of the Navy Records Management Program.
• SECNAVINST 5720.42F DON FOIA Program.
• SECNAVINST 5211.5F DON Privacy Program (Privacy Act framework), the 2019-05-20 revision superseding 5211.5E.
• 5 USC 552 Freedom of Information Act.
• 5 USC 552a Privacy Act of 1974.

Status

Active. Effective 5 April 2019. Reissues and cancels DoD Directive 5400.07 of October 28, 2005. The Office of the Chief Management Officer of the Department of Defense sponsors. Approved by David L. Norquist, Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary of Defense.