FOIA and Public Records Request Letter Generator

Pick the federal Freedom of Information Act or any state public records law, describe the records you want, and this tool assembles a request letter that cites the right statute and the response deadline that statute sets. It updates live as you type, everything runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is saved, sent, or emailed anywhere.

A free template, not legal advice.

This tool helps you exercise an access right you already have under the federal Freedom of Information Act or your state's public records law. It is not legal advice, and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm. It is also not a government agency, a court, or a filing portal. You send the finished letter yourself, directly to the agency that holds the records. Filing a records request is free to do yourself and does not require a lawyer.

Which records law are you using?*Pick the federal Freedom of Information Act for records held by a federal agency, or the state whose agency, county, city, school district, or police department holds the records.

Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. Statutory details in this letter were verified against primary sources on 2026-08-04.

Your full name*Your mailing addressOptional, but agencies often need somewhere to send paper records or a fee notice.Your email addressOptional. Usually the fastest way to receive records.Agency or records custodian*Name the specific body that holds the records. There is no central records office in most jurisdictions, including the federal government, so a request sent to the wrong agency usually just gets returned.What records do you want?*Be as specific as you can: name the record type, the date range, the people or departments involved, and any case, permit, or incident number. A request that reasonably describes the records is much harder to deny than a broad one.Preferred formatTell me before fees exceed

A dollar figure you are willing to pay without being asked first. Setting one keeps a request from stalling over a fee you would have approved, and keeps a surprise bill from arriving.Also ask for a fee waiverAdds a paragraph asking for fees to be waived or reduced because disclosure serves the public interest. This is worth asking for when the records concern how government operates and you are not seeking them for a commercial purpose. It is a request, not an entitlement, and the agency decides.

Expedited processing (federal requests only)

Federal agencies can move a request to the front of the queue only on a showing of compelling need, and the Department of Justice requires a statement certified by the requester to be true and correct. That is why this is a statement you write, not a box you tick. Leave it blank unless a compelling need genuinely applies, such as an imminent threat to someone's life or physical safety, or an urgent need by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information to inform the public about actual or alleged federal government activity.

Your certified statement of compelling needWrite it in your own words, in the first person. Explain the specific urgency and why it applies to you. If you leave this blank, no expedited-processing request is added to the letter.

DateOptional. Type it in whatever format you prefer.

Add your name, the agency, and what you want

The letter below fills in placeholders until all three are entered.

[Your full name]

[Date]

[Agency or records custodian]
Attn: FOIA Officer

Re: Request for records under the Freedom of Information Act

To the records custodian:

This is a request for records under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. I am not asking you to create a new record, to conduct research, or to answer questions, only to provide existing records.

I request copies of the following records:

[Describe the records you want, as specifically as you can]

Please provide the records in electronic form, sent by email, if they exist in that form.

Under 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(A), a determination on this request is required within 20 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays.

Please notify me before incurring any fees that would exceed $25.00 so that I can narrow this request or authorize the additional cost.

If you withhold any record or any part of a record, please cite the specific exemption you are relying on for each withholding, release all reasonably segregable non-exempt portions, and tell me how to appeal the decision.

If any part of this request is unclear or is broader than you can process, please contact me so I can narrow or clarify it rather than denying it.

Please confirm in writing that you have received this request.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,


[Your full name]

What Happens After You Send It

Send the letter to the specific agency that holds the records. There is no central records office anywhere in the United States, including the federal government. The federal portal at foia.gov can route you to the right agency and accept a request electronically, but each agency still handles its own records, and a request sent to the wrong one usually comes back.

The agency should acknowledge the request and then either produce the records, withhold some of them under a specific exemption, or tell you it has no responsive records. Under the federal Act, an agency has 20 working days to make a determination, and can add up to 10 more working days by written notice in unusual circumstances. State deadlines vary a great deal, from three business days to thirty calendar days, and several states set no counted deadline at all and simply require a prompt response. The letter states whichever rule applies to the jurisdiction you picked.

Fees are the most common reason a request stalls. Federal requesters get the first two hours of search time and the first 100 pages of duplication free unless the request is for a commercial use, and many states have a similar free tier or a per-page cap. The fee ceiling you set in the letter is what keeps an agency from processing a bill you never agreed to.

Two things this cluster of laws does not cover. Birth, death, and marriage certificates are not public records act requests: they run through a state vital records office with its own eligibility rules, so start with the state death records guides instead. Deeds and land records also have their own county-level process, covered in the property records guides.

What This Tool Does Not Do

This generator only assembles the wording of a letter from the details you type in. It does not file anything, does not contact any agency on your behalf, does not track your request, and does not tell you whether the records you want are exempt from disclosure. It cannot tell you which agency holds a particular record, which is the single most common reason a first request fails.

Nothing you enter is saved, transmitted, or emailed by this tool. You copy or print the finished letter and send it yourself. Keep a dated copy, because the date you sent it is what starts the statutory clock.

The statutory details behind each jurisdiction were verified against official government sources on the date shown next to the statute name in the form. Public records laws change, sometimes dramatically. California renumbered its entire Public Records Act in 2023, Alabama rewrote its law in 2024, and New Jersey rewrote OPRA effective in 2024, so check the current statute before relying on a deadline in a dispute. For anything contested, such as a denial you intend to appeal or litigate, take independent legal advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is filing a FOIA or public records request free?

Filing costs nothing. Fees can apply to the agency's search, review, and duplication work. Under the federal Act, non-commercial requesters get the first two hours of search time and the first 100 pages free, and many states have their own free tier or per-page cap. Setting a fee ceiling in your letter means the agency has to check with you before running up a bill.

Do I have to say why I want the records?

Generally no. The federal Act lets any person request records without giving a reason, and most state laws either say the same or bar the agency from asking. Purpose can still matter for two narrow things: a fee waiver, which turns on the public interest in disclosure, and commercial-use fee categories, which some states and the federal Act charge differently.

Can I request records from a state I do not live in?

In most states, yes. Five states in this tool limit the statutory right of access to their own residents or citizens, and the tool shows you a note when you pick one of them. Even in those states an agency may choose to respond to a nonresident, it simply is not required to. The federal Freedom of Information Act has no residency limit at all.

How specific does my description of the records need to be?

Specific enough that an agency employee familiar with the subject could find the records with a reasonable effort. Name the record type, the date range, the people or offices involved, and any case, permit, or incident number you have. A vague request invites a delay or a demand that you clarify it, and a request so broad it would require an unreasonable search can be denied outright.

What is expedited processing, and should I ask for it?

It is a federal mechanism that moves a request ahead of the queue when there is a compelling need, such as an imminent threat to life or physical safety, or an urgent need to inform the public about federal government activity by someone primarily engaged in disseminating information. It requires a statement that you certify to be true and correct, which is why this tool gives you a text box to write it rather than a checkbox to tick. Ask for it only when it genuinely applies.

What can I do if the agency ignores me or denies the request?

Follow up in writing first and ask for a status and a tracking number. Federal denials go to an administrative appeal within the agency, and you get at least 90 days to file one; the Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives also offers mediation. State appeal routes differ widely: some states have a binding commission or an attorney general decision, others send you straight to court, and several shift attorney fees to the agency if you win.

Does this tool store, send, or email my information anywhere?

No. The letter is assembled entirely in your browser as you type. Nothing you enter is saved, transmitted, or emailed by this tool. You copy or print the finished letter and send it yourself.

This tool generates a free self-help letter template based on the federal Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws. It is general information, not legal advice, and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm and is not affiliated with any federal, state, or local government agency. See foia.gov and the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy for the official federal guidance, your state's own statute for state requests, or take independent legal advice for anything disputed.

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