28 C.F.R. § 16.3

Requirements for making requests

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(a) General information. (1) The Department has a decentralized system for responding to FOIA requests, with each component designating a FOIA office to process records from that component. All components have the capability to receive requests electronically either through email or a web portal. To make a request for records of the Department, a requester should write directly to the FOIA office of the component that maintains the records being sought. A request will receive the quickest possible response if it is addressed to the FOIA office of the component that maintains the records sought. The Department's FOIA Reference Guide, which may be accessed as described in § 16.1(a), contains descriptions of the functions of each component and provides other information that is helpful in determining where to make a request. Each component's FOIA office and any additional requirements for submitting a request to a given component are listed in Appendix I to this part. Part 0 of this chapter also summarizes the functions of each component. These references can all be used by requesters to determine where to send their requests within the Department.

(2) A requester may also send requests to the FOIA/PA Mail Referral Unit, Justice Management Division, Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20530-0001, or via email to [email protected], or via fax to (202) 616-6695. The Mail Referral Unit will forward the request to the component(s) that it determines to be most likely to maintain the records that are sought.

(3) A requester who is making a request for records about himself or herself must comply with the verification of identity provision set forth in subpart D of this part.

(4) Where a request for records pertains to a third party, a requester may receive greater access by submitting either a notarized authorization signed by that individual or a declaration made in compliance with the requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. 1746 by that individual authorizing disclosure of the records to the requester, or by submitting proof that the individual is deceased (e.g., a copy of a death certificate or an obituary). As an exercise of administrative discretion, each component can require a requester to supply additional information if necessary in order to verify that a particular individual has consented to disclosure.

(b) Description of records sought. Requesters must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. To the extent possible, requesters should include specific information that may assist a component in identifying the requested records, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, subject matter of the record, case number, file designation, or reference number. Requesters should refer to Appendix I to this part for additional, component-specific requirements. In general, requesters should include as much detail as possible about the specific records or the types of records that they are seeking. Before submitting their requests, requesters may contact the component's FOIA contact or FOIA Public Liaison to discuss the records they are seeking and to receive assistance in describing the records. If after receiving a request a component determines that it does not reasonably describe the records sought, the component shall inform the requester what additional information is needed or why the request is otherwise insufficient. Requesters who are attempting to reformulate or modify such a request may discuss their request with the component's designated FOIA contact, its FOIA Public Liaison, or a representative of the Office of Information Policy (“OIP”), each of whom is available to assist the requester in reasonably describing the records sought. If a request does not reasonably describe the records sought, the agency's response to the request may be delayed.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 134 cases (19 in the last 5 years), 1974–2026 · leading case: Latham v. U.S. Department of Justice

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Latham v. U.S. Department of Justice (2009) dcd · cites it 7× “First, according to the DEA, plaintiff did not submit his request with a notarized certificate of identity as required under 28 C.F.R. §§ 16.3 and 16.41. Id. Second, DEA staff determined that plaintiffs request did not comply with 5 U.”

Lardner v. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2012) dcd · cites it 4× “Plaintiff argues that the Court’s reliance on 28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (a) is misplaced, since “the FBI agreed to search a large number of field office files for ELSUR materials even though he submitted no requests to those field offices.”

James Biear v. Attorney General United State (2018) ca3 · cites it 3× “§ 552 (a)(1) (requiring agencies to make and publish regulations for requests under FOIA); 28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (Department of Justice regulations governing FOIA requests).”

Watkins Law & Advocacy, PLLC v. DOJ (2023) cadc · cites it 2× “” 28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (a)(1). To promote the agency’s ability to respond to requests in an efficient manner, DOJ’s regulations instruct requesters to “write directly to the FOIA office of the component that maintains the records being sought.”

Tokar v. U.S. Dep't of Justice (2018) cadc · cites it 2× “" 28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (b). Generally, requests for information rather than records are not considered proper FOIA requests.”

Banks v. Lappin (2008) dcd · cites it 2× “28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (a). Similarly, a requester submits his Privacy Act request for access to or amendment of DOJ records by writing directly to the agency component that maintains the records.”

House v. U.S. Department of Justice (2016) dcd · cites it 2× “House submitted his FOIA/Privacy Act request only to the “FOIA/PA Unit Criminal Division” of the Department and not to the FBI, which is a separate component of the Department. See Dkt. 7-2 at 2. The Department’s FOIA regulations mandate that requests be sent “directly to the…”

Seife v. U.S. Dep't of State (2018) ilsd “It is not apparent that the State Department engaged in a similar process with respect to the 12997 request.”

Clemente v. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2017) cadc “- The district court held—and the FBI asserts— that the agency had no obligation to retrieve those records because, at the time of Clemente’s FOIA request, an agency regulation mandated that requests for FBI field office records be sent directly to the relevant field office'.”

Willis v. United States Department of Justice (2008) dcd “; 28 C.F.R. § 16.3 (a). Such requests are logged into a database once received.”

Fischer v. U.S. Department of Justice (2009) dcd “28 C.F.R. §§ 16.3 (a), 16.41(a). Accordingly, the FBI is not obligated to undertake a search of its field offices’ records when a requester does not submit his request there.”

Maydak v. U.S. Department of Justice (2003) dcd “That notification was consistent with DOJ FOIA regulations, which state in relevant part, “[i]n most cases, your FOIA request should be sent to a component’s central FOIA office.”

Show all 134 citing cases →

— 28 C.F.R. § 16.3(a) — 2 cases

Lardner v. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2012) dcd

Colgan v. Department of Justice (2020) dcd

— 28 C.F.R. § 16.3(d) — 2 cases

Latham v. U.S. Department of Justice (2009) dcd “First, according to the DEA, plaintiff did not submit his request with a notarized certificate of identity as required under 28 C.F.R. §§ 16.3 and 16.41. Id. Second, DEA staff determined that plaintiffs request did not comply with 5 U.”

Latham v. U.S. Department of justice/drug Enforcement Administration (2009) dcd

— 28 C.F.R. § 16.3(e) — 1 case

Marsh v. Commissioner (1974) tax

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