This page contains information for people making Freedom of Information requests. It explains the rules which govern how requests are handled by public authorities and sets out some of the things that might happen whilst a public authority is handling your request.
The way public authorities handle requests is determined by the Act, regulations and codes of practice. The Information Commissioner can take legal action against public authorities which fail to comply with the codes of practice.
Public authorities must provide you with advice and assistance to help
you make your request. This requirement is set down in the Act, and also
in the code of practice. This means that a public authority might contact
you whilst they are working on your request to discuss it with you before
they provide a final answer.
These requests not considered to be Freedom of Information requests and are handled under different rules, set down in the Data Protection Act.
More information about requests for personal information
These requests are handled under the Environmental Information Regulations - these are very similar to the Freedom of Information Act, but have slightly different rules about fees, time-limits and when information can be withheld.
Information about the environment includes information about buildings, plants, trees, pollution, the atmosphere, water etc.
More about requests for environmental information
The Freedom of Information Act requires all public authorities to have and maintain a publication scheme - this is a document which describes all the types of information a public authority will actively publish. It may also say how much they will charge for providing certain types of information.
More information about publication schemes
The Act does not specifically limit the number of requests you can make. However, the Act states that a public authority does not have to comply with vexatious or repeated requests. This may include repeated requests from the same person for the same information, or requests which are intended to disrupt the authority's work.
If the public authority doesn't hold the information you have asked for, but knows that another authority does, they might transfer your request to the other authority. They should always let you know that they have done this, although they don't have to ask your permission first. This is a requirement of the Code of Practice.
When a public authority receives a Freedom of Information request, they have to respond to it promptly, and in any event within 20 working days (usually around one calendar month). This deadline is set down in the Act. However, there are a number of reasons why this can sometimes be varied.
Sometimes public authorities might need to contact you whilst they are working on your request in order to clarify what information you are looking for, or to help you refine or redirect your request.
Whilst they are waiting for your answer, the clock 'stops' - this time doesn't count towards the 20 working days.
If a public authority issues a fees notice, they clock stops until they have received your payment. More about costs
Some exemptions under the Act require the public authority to consider whether or not the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it. If a public authority thinks they might need to rely on one of these exemptions, they can extend the 20 working day time-limit whilst they consider the public interest. If they propose to do this, they must write to you within the 20 working days, explaining which exemption they are considering and when they intend to provide you with a full answer.
Some public authorities have special extensions of time in certain circumstances. These are:
• Schools, for requests received during school holidays
• Archives, for requests for closed records
• the Armed Forces, for requests for information held by people on active operations; and
• Public authorities whose information is held outside the UK .
These special extensions are set out in regulations, which are available in the Reference Library area of this site.
If the public authority estimates that it will cost them more than the 'appropriate limit' to identify, locate and retrieve the information you have asked for, they may may refuse your request entirely, choose to answer anyway, or ask you to pay towards the cost. Public authorities may also ask you to pay towards the photocopying and postage costs of complying with your request.
The 'appropriate limit' is fixed by regulations and is £600 for requests to central government and £450 for requests to any other public authority.
If they ask you to pay, they must issue a 'fees notice' which tells you how much they will charge you and asks whether you wish to pay.
If you make several FOI requests which relate to similar subjects, public authorities may 'aggregate' (add together) the cost of answering all your requests when calculating whether or not the cost will exceed the appropriate limit.
The regulations which set out when and how public authorities may charge fees are available in the Reference Library area of this site.
When the public authority replies to your request, they must confirm or deny whether or not they hold the information that you have asked for, and either provide it or explain why you cannot have it.
If they are withholding any information, they must tell you which exemption they are relying on, and unless it is an 'absolute' exemption, they must also show that they have considered the balance of the public interest in disclosing or withholding it.
Public authorities must also tell you about your right of appeal against their decision to withhold any information, and tell you how to do this.
More information about exemptions