Skip Navigation
Official website of the United States Government We can do this. Find COVID-19 vaccines near you. Visit Vaccines.gov. U.S. Department of the Treasury
Bureau of the Fiscal Service
Freedom of Information Act

Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to request information from the federal government. It's often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government.

Please note that we provide a lot of information on our website for your convenience. We encourage you to search our website for the information you need before making a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and agreeing to pay a fee.

If you have questions about payments, savings bonds or delinquent debt owed to the federal government, you can get useful information by calling the following numbers:

If your questions are about.....

Debt owed to the government
800-304-3107
Savings Bonds
844-284-2676
Payments
855-868-0151 or 816-414-2100

Please remember that first-party requests (requests seeking your own records) are processed under the Privacy Act not the FOIA.  If you are seeking first-party records, please contact the program office system manager at the address shown in the applicable System of Records (SORN) at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/02/27/2020-03969/privacy-act-of-1974-system-of-records (updated February 2, 2020).

Other Sources

  • For information about Treasury Securities (T-bills, notes, and bonds, savings bonds, and other special securities), visit our website at: www.treasurydirect.gov.
  • For information about banks, contact the Comptroller of the Currency
  • For information about taxes, contact the Internal Revenue Service
  • For information about credit, you may want to contact your state or local department of consumer affairs
  • Like other Federal agencies, we have a locator system called GILS, which stands for Government Information Locator Service. Visit the GILS website and enter whatever you want to search for, i.e., "debt collection", and you'll see a list of entries containing that term.
  • For information about "Awards and Settlements" for the Office of Compliance you may want to contact the legislative branch. As a component of the Department of the Treasury, the Fiscal Service is within the executive branch of the government, and does not have detailed information for settlements involving the legislative branch. This information, if available, is maintained by the legislative branch (Congress).

    The Fiscal Service publishes the Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays and Balances of the United States Government annually. The 2017 version of the Combined Statement and previous years’ reports are available on our website.

    This document contains summary-level information regarding the financial activity of Congress, including a fund for Awards and Settlements maintained by the legislative branch’s Office of Compliance. The summary-level information for this fund is found on page 8 of this section of the Combined Statement document.

After you look around on your own, if you don't find what you want to know about us and you want to make a FOIA request, here's what's involved:

Submitting a FOIA Request

  • Your request must be in writing and signed.
  • You must state that you're making the request under the FOIA.
  • You need to describe the records you're requesting. The more specific you are, the easier it is for us to locate the records.
  • You need to tell us what category of requester you are -- commercial, media, educational, all others -- because there are different fee structures.
  • Since fees might be charged, you'll need to agree to pay. Paying online with Pay.gov is safe, secure, and the preferred method to make a payment.  See https://pay.gov/public/form/start/72294391.

    • If you prefer to send a check, please mail your check to:

    U.S. Department of the Treasury
    Bureau of the Fiscal Service
    ATTN: FAO/Agency Cash Branch
    P.O. Box 1328
    Parkersburg, WV 26106-1328

We work hard to respond promptly to FOIA requests. However, you might not get everything you ask for. Some of the information we do not disclose includes:

  • who owns Treasury securities;
  • who has delinquent debt owed to the federal government;
  • personal information about employees or other individuals;
  • information that would cause competitive harm to a business, such as a contractor.

If we withhold information, you may appeal, and if your appeal is denied, you have the right to go to court to request the release of records.

Please submit your request via online through the FOIA Portal at: https://www.foia.gov.

If you wish to mail your request, send by U.S. Mail to:

U.S. Department of the Treasury
Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service)
Attn: FOIA Disclosure Office/Room 508B
3201 Pennsy Drive, Building E
Landover, MD 20785

Phone: 202-874-5602

In the event you are experiencing an issue with our website, please notify us by email at: [email protected] and we will assist you with submitting your request.

Try looking around on our website first -- it will probably be the most convenient way for you to get information.

For links to other valuable FOIA resources, check our Electronic Reading Room.

Last modified 05/24/23