How many exemptions are there under the Freedom of Information Act?

• A. 7
• B. 8
• C. 9
• D. 10

Answer: (C)

FOIA sets up nine separate exemptions from disclosure, each protecting a different type of information the government may withhold. These cover national security or classification, internal agency rules, information prohibited by another statute, confidential business or financial information, inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda, personnel and medical files, law enforcement records, information about financial institutions, and geological or geophysical data. Because there are nine distinct exemptions, the correct answer is nine. The other numbers would miss one or more categories that FOIA expressly allows agencies to withhold.