How to Request Government Contracts Through FOIA

Government contracts are public records. Whether you're a journalist investigating spending, a business competitor reviewing awards, or a taxpayer seeking accountability, FOIA gives you the right to access them.

What Contract Records Can You Request?

The contract itself — The full executed agreement

Proposals and bids — What vendors submitted (may have redactions for trade secrets)

Award justifications — Why a particular vendor was selected

Sole-source justifications — Why competitive bidding was waived

Modifications and amendments — Changes to the original contract

Performance evaluations — How the vendor performed

Payment records — How much was actually paid

Correspondence — Emails between the agency and vendor during the process

Where to Find Contract Information First

Before filing a FOIA request, check these free sources:

USASpending.gov — Federal contract data

SAM.gov — Federal contract awards

FPDS.gov — Federal procurement data

State procurement portals — Most states publish contract databases online

If you need the actual documents (not just summary data), you'll need to file a FOIA or public records request.

How to Write the Request

A good contract request should specify:

The agency or department that awarded the contract

The vendor name if known

The contract number if available

The subject matter of the contract

The date range of award or performance

Common Exemptions for Contract Records

Agencies may try to withhold portions of contracts under:

Trade secrets (Exemption 4): Proprietary pricing, technical methods

Deliberative process (Exemption 5): Internal deliberations about the award

Privacy (Exemption 6): Personal information of vendor employees

However, the contract price, scope of work, and performance metrics are almost always public. Demand segregability — even if some information is exempt, the non-exempt portions must be released.

File Your Contract Request

FOIAfile generates properly formatted requests that specifically target contract records with the right legal citations. Your first request is free.