Due to a technical issue with our Public Access Link, requests submitted between Monday, February 17, 2025, 7 pm EST through Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 4:30 pm EST may not have been successfully received. Please login to your PAL account, if the request was successfully received it will be available in the Request Status view. If it is not listed, please resubmit your request.
Welcome to the U.S. Department of Education Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Public Access Link
Effective February 12, 2024, users will be required to use a Login.gov account to create or access a requester profile, where they can submit FOIA and Privacy Act requests.
To strengthen security, better protect your data, and align with new National Institute of Standards of Technology requirements, the Department of Education is implementing two-factor authentication for the Public Access Link (PAL), the portal for submission of FOIA and Privacy Act requests.
Login.gov is a service that offers secure and private online access to government programs. A single Login.gov account can be used to access multiple government websites.
If you currently have a PAL account, please use the same email associated to your PAL account when creating your Login.gov account to ensure your existing request history is included when checking request status. If you have a Login.gov account and the email associated to your PAL account is different from the email associated to your Login.gov account, you will need to decide if you want to create a new PAL account and associate it to the email used to your Login.gov account or create a new Login.gov account and associate it to the email used to your PAL account.
Register/Sign In to Portal
Register/Sign In to access portal.
FOIA and Privacy Requests
Once registered with the portal, the ability to submit FOIA and Privacy Act requests will be enabled using the Submit Request option in the navigation bar.
FOIA Requests
Prior to submitting your request, visit the agency FOIA Library to see if the records you are seeking are available publicly. You can also visit our About FOIA webpage that provides detailed information regarding the FOIA program at the Department of Education.
Privacy Act Requests
To submit a Privacy Act request you are required to verify your identity. This verification is required in order to protect your privacy and to ensure that private information about you is not disclosed inappropriately to someone else.
To submit a Privacy Act request on behalf of someone else, the identity of that person must also be verified to protect the privacy of that person. In addition, a Certification of Identity and Consent must be completed.
For more information about the Privacy Act, visit About the Privacy Act page on our agency website.
To Check the Status of a FOIA Request
Registered requesters can Sign In to view the status of your request(s), send a message to the FOIA Office, or download responsive records once they are delivered.
Non-registered requesters can check the status of requests by clicking on Check Request Status. Be prepared to enter the tracking number provided by the FOIA Office to retrieve the status of your request.
If you prefer to contact the FOIA Office to check status of your request, contact the FOIA Office in your area.