FMCSA Receives More FOIA Requests Than Any Agency in DOT. Its Backlog Is the Largest. Here Is How to File Anyway.

FMCSA holds records that consumers, attorneys, journalists, and researchers need to hold moving companies accountable: OP-1 applications showing who actually owns a company, closed enforcement case files showing what FMCSA found and did nothing about, NCCDB complaint narratives showing what consumers actually reported, and broker-carrier agreements showing how much of your money the broker keeps.

These are public records. You have a legal right to request them under the Freedom of Information Act. The problem is getting FMCSA to produce them.

FMCSA received 9,647 FOIA requests in FY 2025, more than any other DOT component. More than the FAA (6,080), more than the Office of the Secretary (2,299), more than NHTSA (536). FMCSA alone accounts for nearly half of all FOIA requests across the entire Department of Transportation.

In the same year, DOT cut its full-time FOIA staff from 65 to 58, a 10% reduction. The DOT-wide FOIA backlog grew 40%, from 8,048 requests at the end of FY 2024 to 11,250 at the end of FY 2025.

FY 2026 quarterly data shows the problem accelerating. FMCSA received 8,625 requests in the first three quarters alone, on pace for approximately 11,500 for the full year. It processed only 6,674. The FMCSA FOIA backlog stood at 6,256 at the end of Q3, larger than the total FOIA requests received by every other DOT component combined.

The 2026 DOT Chief FOIA Officer Report states that FMCSA considers FOIA 'part of its core mission' and claims to have 'improved its technology for more efficient processing.' The backlog grew 40% in one year.

The records locked behind FMCSA's FOIA backlog are the same records that would expose fraud networks, connect shell companies to their real owners, and document the agency's own enforcement failures.

OP-1 applications: These show the officers, owners, and disclosed affiliations for every registered carrier and broker. When a company lists one officer on its FMCSA registration but a different person signs the corporate filings, the OP-1 reveals the discrepancy. When an applicant answers 'no' to the affiliation question but shares an address and phone number with a company whose authority was just revoked, the OP-1 is the document that proves the false statement.

Closed enforcement case files: When FMCSA investigates a carrier and closes the case without action, the case file shows what they found. A pattern of investigations closed without enforcement is itself evidence of an enforcement gap.

Non-public complaint narratives: The NCCDB publishes complaint counts, but the actual text of consumer complaints, with dollar amounts, carrier names, and descriptions of what happened, requires a FOIA request.

Consumers face a 180-day deadline to contest billing charges (49 USC 13710(a)(3)(B)) and a 9-month deadline for property damage claims (49 USC 14706). If the records needed to pursue those claims are locked in a FOIA backlog, the consumer's rights expire while the agency processes paperwork.

Despite the backlog, filing is straightforward. No special form is required.

1. Email FOIA2@dot.gov. That is the current FMCSA FOIA submission address.

2. Be specific. Include names, DOT numbers, dates, and the type of records you want (OP-1 applications, enforcement case files, NCCDB complaints, etc.). The more specific you are, the faster they can locate the records.

3. State your fee category. If you are a journalist or media organization, write: 'I am a representative of the news media as defined under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(ii).' News media requesters are charged only for photocopying after the first 100 pages. No search or review fees.

4. Request a fee waiver if applicable. If the disclosure is 'in the public interest' and 'likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government,' you can request a full fee waiver.

5. Request expedited processing if there is urgency. Expedited processing is available when the requester is 'primarily engaged in disseminating information to the public and the information is urgently needed to inform the public concerning some actual or alleged government activity.' Cite specific consumer deadlines (180 days, 9 months) if the records are needed for a pending claim.

6. Include a fee cap. State: 'I am willing to pay fees up to $25.00 without prior approval.' If costs exceed this, the agency must notify you before proceeding.

7. Expect an acknowledgment within 10 business days. The actual production may take months.

DOT publishes a sample FOIA request letter on its website at transportation.gov/foia. No special form is required. The sample confirms four fee categories: commercial use (pays all fees), educational/scientific (duplication after 100 pages), news media (duplication after 100 pages), and all others (search after 2 hours, duplication after 100 pages). If total fees are under $20, DOT charges nothing.

The FOIA statute requires agencies to proactively make certain records available 'for public inspection in an electronic format' without any FOIA request. Records created after November 1, 1996 must be available electronically within one year of creation. Records that 'have been requested 3 or more times' must be proactively published.

OP-1 applications (showing company officers and disclosed affiliations) are almost certainly requested frequently enough to trigger this provision. Rather than forcing every journalist, researcher, and consumer advocate to file individual FOIA requests for the same type of document, FMCSA should be publishing OP-1 data in an online reading room. The fact that these records require FOIA requests at all may itself be a statutory violation.

The FOIA statute is explicit: 'an agency shall not assess any search fees' if it fails to comply with the 20 business day time limit. Not reduced fees. Zero fees. Given that FMCSA's backlog is 6,256 requests and growing, the agency is likely to miss the deadline on most requests. When they do, the records are free.

The agency can extend the response time by 10 additional business days in three circumstances: records must be collected from field offices, the request involves a voluminous amount of records, or the agency needs to consult with another DOT component. But even with extensions, the 30 business day clock starts ticking. After that, no fees.

FMCSA is required by law to respond to FOIA requests within 20 business days (5 USC 552(a)(6)(A)). In practice, the backlog means responses often take months.

If you do not receive a response:

1. Contact the FMCSA FOIA Public Liaison. Public Liaisons are officials who can raise concerns about service and help resolve processing delays.

2. Contact OGIS. The Office of Government Information Services (National Archives) mediates FOIA disputes between requesters and agencies. Email: ogis@nara.gov. Phone: 202-741-5770. Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448. Address: 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park MD 20740-6001.

3. File a FOIA lawsuit. If all else fails, you can sue in federal district court to compel production. FOIA litigation is common and courts review cases 'de novo,' meaning they do not defer to the agency's judgment about what should be withheld. The agency must justify every withholding to the court. If you substantially prevail, the court can award 'reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs,' even if the agency produces the records voluntarily after you file suit.

The non-response is itself a data point. If FMCSA takes 11 months to produce public documents while consumers' 180-day claim deadlines expire, that delay is documented evidence of an agency failing to support the consumer protection framework Congress created.