FOIA Requests

The VA FOIA program is decentralized to ensure the correct VA Administration processes your request. The type of information or records you are seeking will determine where to send your request.

Fee Categories:

• Commercial requesters—charged for search time, document review, and duplication
• News media, educational, and scientific requesters—charged for duplication only after the first 100 pages
• All other requesters—charged for search time (after two hours) and duplication (the first 100 pages are free)

Current Departmental fees:

• Duplication at 15 cents per page
• Search at hourly wage of the person conducting the search plus 16%
• Review (commercial requesters only) at hourly wage of the person conducting the review plus 16%
• VA will charge direct costs associated with duplication of non-paper items; records search using automated methods; and other activities such as attesting under seal or certifying that a record are true copies, etc.
• We do not charge when assessable fees are less than $25.
• Your submission of a request will be deemed to be an implicit commitment to pay up to $25 in fees, unless you indicate a higher amount or request a fee waiver.
• You will be promptly notified if the anticipated fees exceed $25.

Fee Waiver

Agencies may grant fee waivers if the requester successfully describes that the disclosure of information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to the public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

Agencies may grant expedited process if the requester demonstrates a compelling need. A compelling need must be demonstrated in one of the two following ways:

• By establishing that the failure to obtain the records quickly “could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual or,
• If you are primarily engaged in disseminating information, and you demonstrate that an “urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity exists.

Under the FOIA’s administrative appeal provision and the VA FOIA regulations, a requester has the right to appeal any adverse determination the VA makes on their FOIA request.

You may file an administrative appeal if:

• You are not satisfied with a FOIA office’s initial determination;
• You disagree with the center’s withholding of information, or you might believe that there are additional records responsive to your request that the center failed to locate;
• You have requested expedited processing or a fee waiver and the FOIA office has not granted that request; or
• You may appeal a determination that what has been requested is not reasonably described, that a record does not exist or cannot be located, that a record is not readily reproducible in the form or format requested, that the requested information is not a record subject to the FOIA, or a determination regarding the charging of a fee.

Appeal Must be made in Writing

Any administrative appeal to a request must be made in writing within 90 days of any initial decision to deny a request. The letter of appeal should state clearly why the requester disagrees with the determination to withhold records. Both the front of the envelope and the appeal letter should contain the notation: “Freedom of Information Act Appeal”

The final VA decision will be made by the General Counsel or the Deputy General Counsel.

Where to Send the Request

Effective on September 19, 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs will accept FOIA Appeals electronically. If you filed a FOIA request, you want to file an appeal, and your appeal does not involve the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), use the following Post Office address, fax or email address to file a FOIA appeal: