KNOW WHAT TO DO™

Stop Asking Government Questions. Start Asking for the Records.

Government agencies hold contracts, policies, correspondence, reports, case files, payment records, internal notes, and other records that can answer questions ordinary people cannot resolve from public statements alone.

The problem is knowing which law applies, which office has the records, what to request, and what to do when the response is incomplete or denied.

FOIA & the Privacy Act teaches that process from the ground up. It explains federal FOIA, first-party Privacy Act requests, and state and local public-records systems without treating them as interchangeable.     

What This Guide Covers

• How to determine whether federal FOIA, the Privacy Act, or state public-records law applies.
• How to locate the correct agency, component, records office, and request procedure.
• How to describe records precisely enough for an agency to search.
• Federal FOIA deadlines, fees, expedited processing, exemptions, and redactions.
• How to evaluate partial productions and “no responsive records” responses.
• Administrative FOIA appeals, FOIA Public Liaisons, OGIS, and judicial review.
• How to request federal records about yourself under the Privacy Act.
• How to request correction of inaccurate federal personal records.
• Why state and local public-records laws require separate research.
• How to locate and verify the governing public-records law in any state.
• How to preserve appeal rights when state or local records are withheld.
• How to track requests, productions, deadlines, and agency responses.
• Special issues involving court records, vital records, tax information, law-enforcement records, and other sensitive files.
• Common FOIA and Privacy Act myths that can derail an otherwise valid request.

The guide contains 18 chapters, worked examples, a quick-reference decision sheet, definitions, an authority index, and source-verification notes.     

What You Receive

25-Page FOIA & Privacy Act Field Guide

A practical, research-first guide to requesting, tracking, reviewing, and challenging government records decisions at the federal, state, and local levels.

Editable Correspondence Templates

The guide is accompanied by a separate editable Word packet containing reusable request, tracking, and correspondence materials. The forms are starting points rather than a universal “FOIA document” and must be adapted to the law, agency, records, and procedure involved.     

Who This Guide Is For

This guide is for people who want government records but do not know where to begin—or who have already submitted requests and received delays, redactions, denials, fees, referrals, or responses stating that no records were found.

It is also useful for researchers, self-represented litigants, privacy-minded individuals, community advocates, and anyone trying to verify a government claim through the underlying records rather than assumptions.

The Core Principle

Find the law. Find the custodian. Ask for the record that actually exists.

A public-records request is not a demand that an agency prove your theory or answer legal questions. Its purpose is to identify and obtain existing records through the procedure that governs them.

The strongest requests are narrow enough to search, directed to the right office, tied to the correct law, and preserved as part of a clean administrative record.     

Educational Use

These materials provide general civic and legal education only. They are not individualized legal advice and do not create an attorney-client relationship.

Federal and state records laws, agency procedures, exemptions, fees, identity requirements, deadlines, and appeal processes vary and may change. Users remain responsible for verifying the current authority and procedure applicable to a particular request.     

KNOW WHAT TO DO™

FOIA & the Privacy Act

25-Page Field Guide + Editable Correspondence Templates

$19.99

Digital products are delivered electronically and are non-refundable, except where required by applicable law.