The FBI organizational chart starts with a Director confirmed by the Senate, runs down through a Deputy Director and five headquarters branches, and extends outward to 56 field offices, roughly 350 resident agencies, and 63 international posts. That structure carries a workforce of about 33,000 people and covers both law enforcement and intelligence work, which is unusual: the Bureau is the only federal agency that sits inside the Department of Justice while also holding full membership in the U.S. Intelligence Community.1FBI. What is the FBI?
The Top of the Chart
The Director sits at the top. The President nominates the Director and the Senate confirms; the term is a single stretch of up to ten years, a limit put in place in the 1970s after J. Edgar Hoover’s 48-year tenure. The Director answers to the Attorney General on law enforcement questions and to the Director of National Intelligence on intelligence questions.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 532 – Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Directly below is the Deputy Director, who runs day-to-day investigative and intelligence operations and steps in as acting Director when needed.3Federal Bureau of Investigation. Andrew McCabe Named Deputy Director of the FBI A Chief of Staff coordinates the branches and manages executive staff.
Several offices sit outside the branch structure and report straight to the Director:
- The Office of the General Counsel handles legal guidance across FBI operations.
- The Office of Integrity and Compliance monitors ethics and professional conduct.
- The Inspection Division audits field offices and programs on a rotating basis and investigates employee misconduct.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cindy Hall Named Assistant Director of the Office of Internal Auditing
- The Office of Public Affairs manages publicity for wanted fugitives, the Ten Most Wanted list, and missing-children campaigns.5FBI. How Can Screenwriters, Authors, and Producers Seeking Authenticity Work with the FBI
The Five Headquarters Branches
Below the executive layer, the FBI’s work is divided among five branches. Each is led by an Executive Assistant Director. Three run mission work; two provide support.
National Security Branch
Created in 2005 on the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and the WMD Commission, this branch pulled the Bureau’s national security work under one senior official.6Federal Bureau of Investigation. Federal Bureau of Investigation National Security Branch It contains three components:
- The Counterterrorism Division leads investigations into international and homegrown terrorist plots.
- The Counterintelligence Division targets foreign intelligence activity inside the United States, including espionage and theft of trade secrets.
- The Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate works to keep biological, chemical, radiological, and nuclear materials out of adversary hands.6Federal Bureau of Investigation. Federal Bureau of Investigation National Security Branch
Intelligence Branch
The Intelligence Branch sets the Bureau’s intelligence strategy and manages how intelligence is collected, analyzed, and shared. It is also the channel through which the FBI participates in the wider Intelligence Community.7Federal Bureau of Investigation. Intelligence
Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch
This branch (CCRSB) runs the FBI’s non-national-security caseload.8Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Investigation Its main divisions:
- The Criminal Investigative Division covers organized crime, public corruption, financial fraud, civil rights violations, and violent crime.
- The Cyber Division handles computer intrusions, ransomware, and online fraud, and runs the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which takes public complaints and forwards them to the right agency.9Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). About
- The Critical Incident Response Group deploys tactical teams, hostage negotiators, and behavioral analysts when a crisis exceeds what a field office can handle alone.
- The Victim Services Division supports victims of federal crimes with crisis intervention, travel assistance, and referrals, and has served nearly two million victims since 2001.10Federal Bureau of Investigation. Victims
Science and Technology Branch
The Science and Technology Branch supplies forensic and technical capability. Its Laboratory Division employs scientists working in DNA analysis, latent fingerprints, cryptanalysis, and trace-evidence chemistry. Its Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division runs fingerprint and biometric databases and the Uniform Crime Reporting program.11Federal Bureau of Investigation. Science and Technology
Information and Technology Branch
Established in 2006 and restructured in 2010, this branch runs the FBI’s networks, applications, and data systems so agents and analysts have real-time access to case tools and information.12FBI. Information Technology
Human Resources Branch
Human Resources oversees hiring and personnel administration for the entire workforce. The Training Division runs the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, where new special agents complete 20 weeks of instruction before reporting to their first office.13FBI. What Kind of Training Does an Agent Go Through?
Field Offices, Resident Agencies, and International Posts
Headquarters sets strategy. The field executes it. The FBI operates 56 field offices in major U.S. metropolitan areas and Puerto Rico. Most are led by a Special Agent in Charge. The three largest, in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., are led by an Assistant Director in Charge because of their size and caseload.14Federal Bureau of Investigation. Field Offices
Reporting up to those field offices are roughly 350 smaller satellite offices called Resident Agencies, each run by a Supervisory Special Agent. They put a local investigative presence in cities and towns that don’t warrant a full field office.14Federal Bureau of Investigation. Field Offices
Each field office also fields Evidence Response Teams, groups of agents and specialists who process crime scenes, lift fingerprints, cast impressions, and collect biological samples for the Laboratory.15Federal Bureau of Investigation. Evidence Response Team Training
Overseas, the FBI runs 63 Legal Attaché offices (called “legats”) plus more than two dozen sub-offices, covering more than 180 countries and territories. Each legat sits inside a U.S. embassy or consulate and operates by mutual agreement with the host government. Roughly 250 special agents and support staff work these posts, mainly building relationships with foreign law enforcement and intelligence services.16Federal Bureau of Investigation. International Offices17Federal Bureau of Investigation. International Operations
Workforce Behind the Chart
The boxes on the chart hold roughly 33,262 positions: about 12,926 special agents and approximately 20,300 professional staff, including intelligence analysts, forensic scientists, linguists, IT specialists, and administrative personnel.18Department of Justice. FBI S&E 2026 Exhibits – Summary of Requirements Nearly two out of three FBI employees are not agents. That ratio matters when reading the chart: most of the people staffing the branches and divisions are professional staff, not badge-carrying investigators.
Task Forces That Cross the Chart
Some of the FBI’s most active work happens through task forces that pull in personnel from outside the Bureau. Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) run counterterrorism investigations with agents, analysts, and linguists drawn from dozens of federal, state, and local agencies. About 200 JTTFs operate nationwide, with at least one in each field office, and a national JTTF at headquarters coordinates intelligence-sharing among them. The first was formed in New York City in 1980.19Federal Bureau of Investigation. Joint Terrorism Task Forces
On the criminal side, 178 Violent Gang Safe Streets Task Forces target organized gang activity, using financial analysis, wiretaps, and racketeering statutes to dismantle criminal organizations from the top rather than arresting street-level offenders one by one.20Federal Bureau of Investigation. Violent Gang Task Forces
Oversight Layers
The chart also has an accountability side. Internally, the Inspection Division audits field offices and programs and investigates misconduct allegations against employees.21Office of the Inspector General, Department of Justice. Special Report: The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Compliance with the Attorney General’s Investigative Guidelines In 2020, the FBI created a separate Office of Internal Auditing to strengthen oversight of national security work.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cindy Hall Named Assistant Director of the Office of Internal Auditing
Externally, the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General acts as an independent watchdog. The OIG can open investigations on its own or based on complaints, and it coordinates with FBI internal affairs on serious cases. Federal regulation protects FBI whistleblowers from retaliation.22eCFR. Subpart E-4 Office of the Inspector General