Writing the FIOA request
There are a number of online resources to guide you in drafting a letter.
If you haven't watched the Office of Information in the U.S. Department of Justice short video at its FOIA.gov site you can go back to the previous webpage to watch it.
There are several different ways you can write a FOIA request. Several groups and agencies have samples online. One sample letter from the Department of Justice is posted on this site with several links to other sample letters on the Sample Letters page and under Agency Info.
If the agency you are asking infromation from has an online form to submit a FOIA request, you can try to use it. Just make sure you keep a copy.
If you write your own, once you have written request, you can print and either mail or fax it or e-mail your request to the agency’s FOIA officer. You'll need to follow the directions that you found online for that agency. Every agency is different, even though there has been an effort for the agencies to handle FOIA requests more consistently.
If you mail your request, be sure to write on the envelop “Freedom of Information request” to ensure it gets to the right office in the agency (Department of Justice, 2010).
If you haven't watched the Office of Information in the U.S. Department of Justice short video at its FOIA.gov site you can go back to the previous webpage to watch it.
There are several different ways you can write a FOIA request. Several groups and agencies have samples online. One sample letter from the Department of Justice is posted on this site with several links to other sample letters on the Sample Letters page and under Agency Info.
If the agency you are asking infromation from has an online form to submit a FOIA request, you can try to use it. Just make sure you keep a copy.
If you write your own, once you have written request, you can print and either mail or fax it or e-mail your request to the agency’s FOIA officer. You'll need to follow the directions that you found online for that agency. Every agency is different, even though there has been an effort for the agencies to handle FOIA requests more consistently.
If you mail your request, be sure to write on the envelop “Freedom of Information request” to ensure it gets to the right office in the agency (Department of Justice, 2010).