U.S. Department of State Freedom of Information Act
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Sample Letter
Date Range
Description of Request
Fees
Fee Categories
Fee Waiver
Expeditious Handling

Electronic FOIA Request 

You may make a FOIA request with the Department of State by using this online request form. This form can only be used to file a request for Department of State Records.  For more information on the types of records maintained by the Department of State, please go to Records Management.

If you wish to file a request with another agency, you may wish to view a list of Other Federal Agencies’ FOIA Web Sites.

Please Note: Requests for personal information must be sent by mail. Therefore, this form  cannot be used to request personal information.  For instructions on how to submit a request for personal records on yourself or on someone else’s behalf, please go to the Information Access Guide.

You may also wish to view a Sample Letter as a guide for requesting U.S. Department of State records.



Office of Information Programs and Services
A/GIS/IPS/RL
U. S. Department of State
Washington, D. C. 20522-8100
Date: 2/15/2013

Dear FOIA Officer:
This is a request filed under the Freedom of Information Act.

Date range of request:
Between (mm/yyyy)
  and  

Description of request :
Please provide the subject, any individuals involved, and reasons why the Department is believed to have records on the subject.

For faster processing, please restrict the parameters of this FOIA request to the State Department's automated online electronic repository of Central Foreign Policy Files-- State Archiving System (SAS). SAS contains over 25 million electronic records including telegraphic and written communications from/through the Department and its diplomatic and consular posts from July 1976 to present.

Agreement to pay fees: Please be advised that by making a FOIA request, it shall be considered an agreement by you to pay all applicable fees up to $25.00 (see 22 CFR 171.14), unless you have been granted a fee waiver.  We will confirm this agreement in our acknowledgement letter.  When making a request, you may specify a willingness to pay a greater or lesser amount.

I am willing to pay fees for this request up to a maximum of
$
. Please inform me if the estimated fees will exceed this limit before processing my request.

Fee Category: Please Check the appropriate fee category so that we may properly and accurately assess fees for your request.

an individual seeking information for personal use and not for commercial use.
a representative of the news media affiliated with seeking information as part of a news gathering effort and not for commercial use. (Additional documentation or comments will be required. See 22CFR171.11(0))
affiliated with an educational or noncommercial scientific institution seeking information for a scholarly or scientific purpose and not for commercial use. (Additional documentation will be required. See 22CFR171.5(b))
affiliated with a private corporation and seeking information for use in the company's business.

Fee Waiver
: If the disclosure of the information is not primarily for commercial interest and if you believe that the disclosure of these records is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, you may ask that applicable fees be reduced or waived. Please explain how your request meets these standards in the Additional Comments field below.

Expeditious Handling: If you can demonstrate that a "compelling need" for the requested information exists, you may ask that your request be taken out of order and given expedited treatment. Please explain how your request meets this standard in the Additional Comments field below.


Additional Comments

Thank you for your consideration of my request.


Sincerely,

"Your name"

How to Contact You: In order for us to process your request or to contact you for additional information, please provide the following information:

Your Name*


Your E-mail Address (This site does not automatically collect your email address)


Street Address*



City*


State or Country*


Zip or Postal Code*


Telephone Number


Fax Number


*required information

If you are not requesting personal information, you may electronically submit your request.

Please note: If your request seeks personal information about a living person, your request must be:

• mailed in (and cannot be faxed or submitted online)
• accompanied either by an original, notarized signature, or an original signature with a "penalty of perjury statement"
• if required, a Third Party Authorization
The confidentiality of communications sent via the Internet cannot be guaranteed and the electronic submission of your Freedom of Information Act request is purely voluntary. You may also print the contents of your request letter and submit via fax at (202) 261-8579 or via U.S. mail.


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