Understanding FOIA: Essential Steps for Requesters
How procedural compliance shifts the burden from agencies to the public.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The Burden of Precision
FOIA places strict procedural requirements on requesters. These requirements are not advisory. Failure to comply can result in immediate rejection, administrative closure, or waiver of appeal rights.
File in the correct format. Most agencies require electronic submission through designated portals. Some accept email. Some require postal mail. Using the wrong method can result in the request being returned unprocessed or never acknowledged.
Submit to the correct office. Large agencies have multiple FOIA offices. Sending a request to the wrong division can delay processing or result in the request being closed as misdirected.
Describe records with specificity. Agencies may reject requests as overly broad if they do not identify records with sufficient detail. What constitutes “sufficient detail” is determined by the agency, not the requester.
Respond to clarification requests immediately. If an agency requests additional information to process a request, the requester must respond within a specified timeframe. Failure to respond can result in administrative closure.
Narrow the request on demand. If an agency determines that a request is too broad, the requester must revise it or risk closure. The agency defines what is too broad.
Pay fees if assessed. Agencies may charge for search time, review time, and duplication costs. Some requesters qualify for fee waivers, but the waiver must be requested in writing and granted by the agency. Failure to pay assessed fees results in closure.
Meet appeal deadlines exactly. If a requester disagrees with an agency’s response, they must file an administrative appeal within a specified timeframe—typically ninety days. Missing the deadline by even one day results in waiver of the right to appeal.
Use the correct appeal channel. Agencies have specific procedures for filing appeals. Sending an appeal to the wrong office or using the wrong format can result in it being rejected as improperly filed.
Include all required documentation. Appeals must reference the original request number, describe the basis for the appeal, and include copies of relevant correspondence. Missing documentation can result in dismissal.
These requirements are enforced rigorously. Requesters who fail to comply lose their claims.
The Consequence of Error
FOIA does not provide grace periods for procedural mistakes. A requester who misses an appeal deadline cannot refile. A requester who submits to the wrong office may lose months of processing time. A requester who fails to respond to a clarification request sees their case closed without further notice.
The system operates on strict liability. Intent does not matter. Misunderstanding does not matter. The rules apply uniformly, and non-compliance results in forfeiture.
This is by design. FOIA’s procedural requirements exist to ensure orderly processing and prevent abuse. They create structure.
But they also create risk.
The Knowledge Barrier
Most requesters are not lawyers. They are journalists, researchers, advocates, and members of the public seeking information about government operations. They do not have training in administrative procedure. They do not have in-house counsel to review submissions.
They learn FOIA by using it. They make mistakes.
Agencies, by contrast, have FOIA officers, legal teams, and decades of institutional experience processing requests. They know the rules. They enforce them.
The imbalance is structural.
The Requester’s Obligation to Persist
FOIA does not guarantee a response. It guarantees a process. That process requires the requester to remain engaged at every stage.
If an agency sends a clarification request, the requester must respond. If an agency assesses fees, the requester must pay or request a waiver. If an agency denies access, the requester must appeal. If the appeal is denied, the requester must file in federal court.
At each stage, the burden is on the requester to act. The agency’s obligation is only to process what is properly submitted.
This dynamic creates an asymmetry: the requester must be consistently correct. The agency must only be procedurally responsive.
What Happens When Requesters Comply
Even when requesters follow every rule, submit in the correct format, narrow their requests, respond to clarifications, and meet every deadline, there is no guarantee of a timely response.
Compliance does not compel speed. It only preserves the right to continue waiting.
FOIA’s procedural requirements bind the requester immediately. The requester must act within days or weeks. The agency’s obligations, by contrast, are enforced slowly, if at all.
The Standard Applied
Courts have consistently held that FOIA’s procedural requirements are mandatory. A requester who fails to exhaust administrative remedies cannot proceed to litigation. A requester who misses an appeal deadline cannot challenge a denial. A requester who does not submit in the required format has not properly invoked the statute.
These standards are applied strictly.
The same rigor is not consistently applied to agencies.
Summary
FOIA imposes a detailed procedural framework on requesters. That framework is enforced through closure, waiver, and dismissal. Mistakes are costly. Delays by the requester result in immediate consequences.
The question is whether the same is true for agencies.