Please note that the filing of a FOIA or Privacy request is a personal matter. Military personnel and Federal Government Employees may not use government time or equipment, to include their government email address or government stationary to make such requests.

Essential Elements of a FOIA Request Letter:

1. Provide your full name and contact informationProvide a reasonable description of the record(s) requested
2. Provide a statement of your fee category and your willingness to pay applicable fees
3. Send your request to the applicable FOIA Office (see below)

Fee Categories:

1. Educational, noncommercial, scientific and media: Any accredited U.S. educational or research institution or instructor of an institution, or representative of the news media using the information in a scholarly or analytical work contributing to public knowledge and disseminated to the public.
2. Commercial: Increases the commercial interest of the requestor.
3. All Others: All other requestors

Fees:

The FOIA provides for the collection of fees for:

1. Searches: Time spent in looking for and retrieving material, either paper or electronic files, that are responsive to the request to include personnel hours (clerical and professional) and computer time.
2. Reviews: Time spent to determine if the record is releasable under legal guidelines, excluding resolution of legal or policy issues. This does include time spent excising text that is exempt under FOIA.
3. Reproduction: Generating a copy of a requested record in the appropriate medium, for example paper or computer file. 

Fees rates and schedules can be found in DoD 5400.7, DoD Freedom of Information Act Program (http://dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/540007p.pdf) and on the DD 2086, Record of FOI Costs (http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/forms/eforms/dd2086.pdf).

For more information about the Freedom of Information Act, please see the DoD FOIA Handbook:  http://www.justice.gov/oip/doj-guide-freedom-information-act-0

If you are seeking records within the ARNG you should direct your request to the appropriate ARNG FOIA Officer within the 54 States, Territories, and District of Columbia using the attached directory . Records of the Army National Guard Readiness Center are part of the National Guard Bureau (NGB), the structure of which is defined in the NGB Charter, and requests should be directed to the NGB FOIA Requestor Service Center.

If you are seeking records about yourself under the Privacy Act that are filed within a Privacy Act System of Record, you should direct your request to appropriate Privacy Act System Manager. A listing of all Privacy Act System of Records Notices and contact information to write for access to records covered by the notices can be found on the DoD Privacy Office Website, http://dpcld.defense.gov/Privacy/ComponentPrivacyPOCs.aspx.

Most contracts within the National Guard are Army National Guard records and are held by the United States Property and Fiscal Officer within the state where the contract was initiated. If you have the contract number, you may use this chart to find the appropriate FOIA office to handle your request.

For fastest times, the Air Force has decentralized its FOIA program.  If you want to submit a FOIA request online "CLICK HERE".  Please note, this is a new link so, the previous link is no longer valid.  Please ensure you use the new Public Access Link (PAL) provided above to submit official Freedom of Information Act Request.  This link is currently incompatible with Google Chrome.

No single office handles all FOIA requests. If you prefer not to submit on line you can mail/fax your request to the FOIA Requester Service Center where the record is located or theparticular base or activity that has the records you want. If you don't know which Air Force activity has the records you want, mail your request to:  SAF/AAII, 1000 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1000.  Ensure you describe the records you want as specifically as possible, and let the office know how much you are willing to pay.

Furnish any facts or clues about the time, place, persons, events, subjects, or other details of the information or records you want. That will help the office decide where to search and determine what records pertain to your request. It can also save you and the government time and money, and you may get what you want faster. There is no special form to complete. Mark your request and envelope "FOIA."

How do I request a copy of my Military Personnel Records or DD 214?

How do I request a copy of my Military Medical Records?

For inquiries on background investigations and personnel records for former NGB, ARNG and ANG Federal employees, please reference (Office of Personnel Management for Investigations):  http://www.opm.gov/information-management/freedom-of-information-act/#url=Contacts

For inquiries on Department of the Army (non-guard) records, please reference (Department of the Army FOIA Policy Office): https://www.rmda.army.mil/foia/RMDA-FOIA-Division.html