The Virginia Coalition for Open Government




Create FOIA Request Letter

Use this form to generate the language for a FOIA request letter, which can then be printed out and mailed to the appropriate agency. An informal approach usually works best when requesting public records. Use this letter as a last resort, or when you suspect trouble.

Your Contact Information
Name:
Address:

City:
State, zip:

Daytime telephone:
 
The Agency You're Requesting Records From
Name of agency:
Contact (if any):
 

Provide detailed descriptions of the records you seek, giving dates and names if/where appropriate. If you're not sure which records to ask for or what they are called, you can get ideas from the Library of Virginia's records-retention schedule, which lists the general categories of records state and local governments usually keep.

Would you like to include language reminding the records custodian what the court-imposed penalties may be for a wrongful withholding of records under FOIA? Be advised that these remedies are available only if the matter goes to court, only if you win, and only in the court's discretion. If you do not anticipate that the matter will end up in court, or you are not prepared to pursue a court case, you may not want to include such language, which could be perceived as unncessarily adversarial.

Virginia Coalition for Open Government 540.353.8264 P.O. Box 1293, Warrenton VA 20186 Site Credits
Funding for this web site was provided by the National Freedom of Information Coalition, and was made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

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