Table of Contents
FOIA and Public Records Lesson
Research & Learn
This course is designed for student journalists.
FOIA is an acronym that stands for Freedom of Information Act, which is a federal law guaranteeing your access to information from federal agencies. It’s often also used as a catchall to refer more broadly to the larger body of law which establishes this guarantee. Take this course to learn about FOIA and how you can request information from the government in order to better inform your reporting.
This course is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice or mean that you have formed an attorney-client relationship with FIRE. No online tool can substitute for effective advice from an attorney who can evaluate the nuances of a given legal situation. If you believe you would benefit from speaking to an attorney, please contact FIRE so that we can attempt to connect you with a lawyer in your jurisdiction. FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative hotline is 1-717-734-SPFI (7734).
What is FOIA and why should you care?
What is a public record and who can we get one from?
The specific definition of a public record ultimately depends on the state or federal law you’re looking at, but generally speaking, a public record is a piece of information contained in various forms (whether print, digital, or otherwise) that memorializes government activity.
Check out this lesson to learn more about public records and where they come from.
Using FOIA to improve your reporting and find stories
Three steps to filing your own request
Tailoring your request
When writing a public records request, you’ll want to avoid using overly broad or narrow language so that you minimize the chances that you’ll get too many or too few records in return.
Take this lesson to learn how to write a request that will be likely to get you exactly what you want.
