A Vaughn index is an agency explanation of records or portions withheld in a federal Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. It connects the withheld material to the exemption claimed and explains why disclosure would harm the interest that exemption protects. It lets a requester and judge assess withholding without exposing the very information the agency says must remain protected. [1]
Rules that determine the answer
The explanation need not always be a spreadsheet with a separate row for every page. Justice Department litigation materials illustrate document-by-document, grouped, and coded approaches, sometimes supported by declarations. The important question is whether the explanation supplies enough particular information to evaluate the withholding. A category can be useful for genuinely similar material; a vague label repeated across unrelated records can leave important questions unanswered. [2]
An administrative FOIA requester is not automatically entitled to a Vaughn index before filing suit. The National Archives’ Office of Government Information Services expressly distinguishes litigation indexes from the ordinary administrative request process. A requester can still seek clarification and pursue the agency’s administrative appeal procedure. An index is also different from a search log, a privilege ruling, or the records themselves. [1]
What to do next
- Match each entry to the released records, redaction codes, page ranges, and claimed exemption.
- Identify whether the dispute concerns the adequacy of the search, the withholding, or both; an index does not independently prove that every responsive record was located.
- Compare the stated justification with the actual exemption and ask whether releasable portions were separated.
- Follow the court’s briefing schedule when challenging an inadequate declaration or index, identifying concrete gaps rather than merely demanding a different format.
Practical example
Suppose an agency withholds twelve emails as deliberative material. An entry identifying the subject, participants’ roles, decision under consideration, and nature of the recommendations is more informative than twelve entries saying only “internal email.” A requester could question an entry covering a final instruction without revealing or guessing the email’s contents.
Related record questions include sealed records in FBI background checks and the separate rules on destroying records in federal investigations.
Primary sources
- National Archives OGIS: FOIA resources and Vaughn-index question
- DOJ Office of Information Policy: FOIA litigation declarations and Vaughn indexes
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.