PUBLIC RESEARCH / SOURCE GUIDE
The FBI Vault: Reading Released Files
How to search the FBI’s public records and evaluate case documents.
Quick answer
What is the FBI Vault?
The FBI Vault is the FBI's online reading room, launched in 2011, where the Bureau publishes thousands of files already released under the Freedom of Information Act. It includes files on famous people, historical investigations and unusual subjects, from Martin Luther King Jr. to UFO reports. Everything in it is free to read and was redacted before release.
Start with the original record
Case files can contain tips, leads, unverified statements and investigative dead ends.
How to investigate
- Locate the original record and note its author, date and archive identifier.
- Separate what the record states from what later commentators infer.
- Cross-check the claim with independent documents and contemporaneous reporting.
- Record what remains unknown or disputed.
This page is an orientation guide, not an assertion that any specific conspiracy claim is established. The linked official source is an entry point; individual documents have not been exhaustively verified.
Continue your investigation
Key facts and dates
- 2011: The FBI launches the Vault, replacing its older electronic reading room.
- Files are organized by subject and searchable by name, case and keyword.
- Documents are released through FOIA, so names and sensitive passages are often redacted.
- The 1950 'Hottel memo' about flying saucers has been reported by the FBI as one of the Vault's most viewed documents.
- If a file you want is not in the Vault, anyone can file a FOIA request for it.
Common questions
Is the FBI Vault free?
Yes. Every file in the Vault can be read and downloaded free, with no account.
Does a file in the Vault prove what it describes?
No. A file shows what the FBI recorded, received or believed at the time. Tips, rumors and unverified reports are filed alongside confirmed facts, so each document has to be read in context.
Why are parts of FBI files blacked out?
FOIA lets agencies withhold information under nine exemptions, including privacy, national security and ongoing law enforcement matters. The black boxes are those redactions.
Can I request a file that is not in the Vault?
Yes. You can submit a FOIA request to the FBI through its online portal. You do not need to give a reason.
Stories built on this record
The files below start from this record. Then they keep going. The first pages of every file are free.
Last reviewed 2026-10-13. Facts on this page come from the official sources linked above and the published record. Archive files are dramatized and always marked as files.