AC 18.2017

December 20, 2016

MEMORANDUM TO FEDERAL AGENCIES CONTACTS:  FOIA Regulations’ Citation of the GRS

Many agencies are in the process of updating their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations in response to the FOIA Improvement Act (Public Law 114-185), which became law on June 30, 2016. If your agency is among them, please note that the FOIA regulation template issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) (Section IX, Preservation of Records) previously referenced General Records Schedule (GRS) 14. Because GRS 14 FOIA items have been superseded by  GRS 4.2, your updated regulation should reference GRS 4.2, not GRS 14.  DOJ has corrected the  template on their website.

Please talk to your FOIA program staff to be sure they are aware of the change to the GRS so that the revised item may be incorporated into their updated regulations.

For further information please contact  GRS_Team@nara.gov.

LAURENCE BREWER
Chief Records Officer
for the U.S. Government