The Office of Inspections and Special Inquiries performs reviews of administrative allegations and of Department performance. Allegation-based inspections are highly focused, fact-finding efforts that are typically responsive to allegations of waste, abuse, or mismanagement. As such, these types of inspections are not specifically planned in advance; rather, the scope of each inspection is established when the determination is made to review the allegation.

Performance inspections focus on fact-finding and analysis regarding specified management issues/topics. The scope of each performance inspection is usually tightly focused around a particular issue or topic. The Office also conducts special, expedited reviews involving high profile or sensitive matters, such as critical issues of immediate interest to Congress, the OIG, and/or DOE senior management.

The Office of Inspections and Special Inquiries also performs all OIG intelligence oversight and reporting as required by Executive Order and statute and investigates certain types of whistleblower reprisal complaints. Further, the Office maintains the Inspector General Hotline to facilitate the reporting of allegations and processes referrals of administrative allegations to Department management.

The Office consists of a Headquarters office in Washington, DC, and three regional offices: the Capital Inspection Region Office, which is located in Washington, DC; the Eastern Inspection Region Office, which is located in Oak Ridge, TN, with a satellite office in Aiken, SC; and the Western Inspection Region Office, which is located in Albuquerque, NM, with a satellite office in Livermore, CA.