The nomination period for the 2026-2028 term of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee has been re-opened. The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) renewed the charter for a seventh Committee term on April 24, 2026, and sought nominations. We placed nominations on hold while NARA awaited Senate confirmation of Dr. Bradford P. Wilson. Dr. Wilson was sworn in as the 12th Archivist of the United States on August 21, 2026. As a result, we are re-opening the nomination period through October 26, 2026. Nominations previously submitted by the June 1, 2026, deadline do not need to be resubmitted.
The Committee, which NARA established in 2014, studies the FOIA landscape across the executive branch and advises the Archivist of the United States on improvements to FOIA administration. We are looking for a wide range of FOIA experts from both inside and outside of government. We seek, at a minimum:
- three FOIA professionals from Cabinet-level Departments;
- three FOIA professionals from non-Cabinet agencies;
- two individuals representing the interests of non-Governmental organizations that advocate on FOIA matters;
- three individuals representing the interests of FOIA requesters, one for each of the three FOIA requester fee categories:
- “commercial,”
- “news media,” and
- “all other;”
- one individual representing the interests of historians and history-related organizations; and
- one individual representing the interests of academia.
Committee members must have significant knowledge of and expertise with FOIA. The Directors of OGIS and the Office of Information Policy (OIP) or their designees also have seats on the Committee. Selection criteria includes consideration of geography, organization size, and range of representatives across business, academia, non-profit and non-governmental sectors.
All Committee members are expected to attend a minimum of 10 public meetings during the two-year Committee term. Meetings will be held virtually with some in-person meetings possible. All Committee members are expected to volunteer for one or more working subcommittees that will meet throughout the two-year term.
We must receive nominations on or before Monday, October 26, 2026. All nominations for Committee membership must include the following information:
1. If you are self-nominating: Your name, title, relevant contact information (including telephone and email address), and the representative role for which you wish to be considered;
2. If you are nominating another individual: The nominee’s name, title, and relevant contact information, and the Committee position for which you are submitting the nominee;
3. For both self-nominations and nominations by other individuals: (a) A short paragraph or biography about the nominee (fewer than 250 words), summarizing their resumé or otherwise highlighting the contributions the nominee would bring to the Committee; and (b) the nominee’s resumé or curriculum vitae.
Nominations should be sent to foia-advisory-committee@nara.gov in accordance with this Federal Register notice. The first meetings of the 2026-2028 term are scheduled for Thursday December 3, 2026, and Thursday December 10, 2026. Additional information will be forthcoming and meeting notices will be published in the Federal Register.
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