Sample letters
There are many sample letters online that you use to draft your own FOIA request.
You can find three sample letters at the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a non-governmental organization, that are very general and aimed at records sought under either the federal Freedom of Information Act and the states’ open government laws.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has a letter generator () that is the National Archives and Records Administration refers people to. The reporters committee is designed for reporters to use but you can use it to model your letter.
The generator includes a basic request, an appeal, a complaint, how to request records on yourself under both FOIA and the Privacy Act, and for a Vaughn Index, which is a request filed in federal court for an index of documents that an agency did not release.
This is a sample letter from the Department of Justice (U.S. Department of Justice, et al., 2009).
You can find three sample letters at the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a non-governmental organization, that are very general and aimed at records sought under either the federal Freedom of Information Act and the states’ open government laws.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has a letter generator () that is the National Archives and Records Administration refers people to. The reporters committee is designed for reporters to use but you can use it to model your letter.
The generator includes a basic request, an appeal, a complaint, how to request records on yourself under both FOIA and the Privacy Act, and for a Vaughn Index, which is a request filed in federal court for an index of documents that an agency did not release.
This is a sample letter from the Department of Justice (U.S. Department of Justice, et al., 2009).
Date
Agency FOIA Officer
Name of agency or agency component
Address (find this on the agency web site
Dear __________________:
Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552, I am requesting access to [identify the records as clearly and specifically as possible].
If there are any fees for searching for or copying the records, please let me know before you work on my request. [Or, please supply the records without informing me of the cost if the fees do not exceed $_____________ which I agree to pay.]
If you deny all or any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption you think justifies your refusal to release the information and notify me of appeal procedures available under the law.
Optional: If you have any questions about handling this request, you may telephone me at _________(home phone) or at _____________(office phone).
Sincerely,
Name
Address
Agency FOIA Officer
Name of agency or agency component
Address (find this on the agency web site
Dear __________________:
Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. subsection 552, I am requesting access to [identify the records as clearly and specifically as possible].
If there are any fees for searching for or copying the records, please let me know before you work on my request. [Or, please supply the records without informing me of the cost if the fees do not exceed $_____________ which I agree to pay.]
If you deny all or any part of this request, please cite each specific exemption you think justifies your refusal to release the information and notify me of appeal procedures available under the law.
Optional: If you have any questions about handling this request, you may telephone me at _________(home phone) or at _____________(office phone).
Sincerely,
Name
Address