FHFA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, was enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. The FOIA provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information. All agencies of the United States government are required to disclose records upon receiving a written request for them, except for certain records that are protected from discloser by one or more of the nine exemptions and/or three exclusions of the FOIA. The federal FOIA does not, however, provide access to records held by state or local government agencies, or by private businesses or individuals.

FHFA Headquarters is an independent agency that is responsible for supervision, regulation, and oversight of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. However, these entities are private companies, therefore, the FOIA does not apply to records in their files.

Reading Room

The FOIA Reading Room is a searchable archive of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s final opinions and orders; statements of policy and interpretations not published in the Federal Register; policy and administrative manuals that affect a member of the public; FOIA reports and frequently requested records. more

​Reference Guide

The FOIA Reference Guide is designed to familiarize you with the procedures for submitting a FOIA request to the Federal Housing Fina​nce Agency. more

​FHFA FOIA Regulation

The FOIA is a federal law that provides a right of access to many federal agency records.  Under the FOIA, agencies must have formal rules explaining the process for making and processing FOIA requests.  The full text of the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s FOIA rules is available here.