Public Records Access

Public records access lets citizens obtain government-held documents that explain decisions, preserve history, and protect public safety. Use the federal Freedom of Information Act and related agency procedures to request federal files, and turn to state public records laws for local documents.

How to request federal and DoD records

If you need federal agency files, learn the FOIA process and practical steps in the Department of Defense guides such as How to Access Government Records: The DoD FOIA Playbook and Accessing DoD Records Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

High‑profile and sensitive records

Some requests involve classified, legal, or political issues; articles on the Epstein files explain federal release procedures and debate whether release is legal or political, including how a President might affect disclosure (What Process Does the Federal Government Follow for Releasing Records like the Epstein Files?, Can a President Block the Release of Epstein Court Documents?, Is Release of the Epstein Files a Legal or a Political Question?).

Records for research and safety

Public records are also valuable for personal research and community safety: search patents (How to Search for Patents), census and family history (How Census Data Reveals Family History and American Identity), military service records (Finding Your Family’s Military Story), sex offender registries (How to Search Public Sex Offender Registries), and declassified historical files (How to Access the Declassified JFK Assassination Records).

Understanding documents

Learn to distinguish public versus classified information (Understanding Public Information and Classified Information) and decode federal laws and terms (Decoding Federal Laws) to make records useful for accountability, research, or personal inquiry.