Welcome to the Office of Special Counsel’s FOIA Online Submission Website
Through this Public Access Link (PAL), a requester may create a user account that will enable the requester to submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request online to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), communicate with the FOIA office, check the status of a FOIA request, and receive responses to FOIA requests.
Use the menu on above to register or to log in to your existing profile.
When submitting a request for records, remember to describe the requested records clearly by including relevant case numbers, dates, and/or other specific information about the records you wish to receive. If you seek records about yourself, OSC will need proof of your identity (e.g., a copy of an official ID card with your signature). OSC will process such requests under the FOIA as well as the Privacy Act. For more information about OSC’s FOIA and/or Privacy Act process, click here.
Do not use this Public Access Link to make requests for another agency’s records or for information pertaining to immigration records, state or local law enforcement or prison matters, personal financial matters of members of the public, or other matters not related to OSC. OSC does not maintain records for other agencies or for private entities. OSC does not process FOIA requests on behalf of other agencies. For a listing of the FOIA offices at other federal agencies, click here.
About OSC: OSC’s mission is to safeguard employee rights and hold the government accountable. To achieve this mission and promote good government in the federal executive branch, OSC’s obligations are, broadly speaking: (1) to uphold the merit system by protecting federal employees, applicants, and former employees from prohibited personnel practices, curbing prohibited political activities in the workplace, and preserving the civilian jobs of federal employees who are reservists and National Guardsmen; and (2) to provide a safe channel for federal employees, applicants, and former employees to disclose wrongdoing at their agencies. These two responsibilities work in tandem to maintain the integrity and fairness of the federal workplace and to make the government more accountable.
Privacy Act Routine Uses: The information collected by OSC is used for official purposes. Some disclosure of information from OSC files is needed to fulfill OSC's investigative, prosecutorial, disclosure review, and related responsibilities. OSC published descriptions of 25 routine uses for information in its files in the Federal Register (F.R.), at 82 F.R. 45076 (September 27, 2017). The routine uses permit OSC to furnish information to individuals or state or federal offices for purposes of review, consultation, investigation, administrative action, litigation, or reporting functions; to Congress; or to the public or the media as required by law or as determined by the Special Counsel to be necessary or in the public interest, and appropriate. A copy of these routine uses is available from OSC upon request and is also available here,https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2017-09-27/pdf/2017-20596.pdf.