What are "agency records"?
The FOIA provides access to all "agency records," except those which are specifically exempted. (See Exemptions >>) The FOIA does not define the term "agency record," but the courts have interpreted it to mean printed documents or other information-bearing materials - such as photographs, computer tapes, or databases that satisfy the two following conditions -

• The agency record must already exist and have been created or obtained by a federal agency; FOIA does not require an agency to create a record just to satisfy your request.
• The record must be within both the possession and the control of the federal agency at the time you make your FOIA request. An agency does not have to retrieve a requested record it doesn't possess at the time your request is made. An agency has "control" over a record if it has the power to dispose of it.

A few examples of the wide variety of records that citizens have sought under FOIA include requests from the Food and Drug Administration for health and safety reports on silicone breast implants; from the Immigration and Naturalization Service for information that would help locate and help insure the safety of Haitian refugees who had been deported; from the Department of Commerce for statistics on boycotts; from the Atomic Energy Commission for the names and addresses of military service members who participated in nuclear weapons testing; from the Department of the Navy for an inventory of Native Hawaiian graves; and from the FBI and the CIA for records on the assassination of President Kennedy.

You have the right to obtain this information from these agencies even if they can be collected from another source.