Services

FOIA Professional Services writes, submits and tracks FOIA requests for our clients. 

  • Is monitoring a FOIA request not part of your day to day activity? 
  • Are you not familiar with the FOIA laws in a particular state or the process to submit a request?
  • Would putting your name on the FOIA request have negative ramifications if others found out you were the one seeking the information?

If you find yourself in one of the categories above, submitting a FOIA request may be a burden. FOIA Professional Services is here to help. We submit FOIA requests on behalf of our clients to save them time, energy, and resources. Call us to get started with a professionally managed Freedom of Information Act request tailored to your situation.

Where can FOIA Professional Services submit FOIA requests (public records requests)?

FOIA Professional Services will submit public records requests to all government offices in all 50 states and Canada. If the public agency is subject to a FOIA Law, we can submit a request to them. Here are some examples of public agency types:  

  • Federal
  • State Government Departments
  • Local Government Organizations: 
    • County
    • City 
    • Townships
  • Public Authorities
    • Transportation Authority  
    • Port Authority
    • Airport Authority
    • Development Authority
    • Housing Authority
    • Water and Sewer Authority
    • Transit Authority
  • Public Universities and Colleges (higher education)
  • Public School Districts (primary and secondary education)

 

TYPES OF REQUESTS: 

There are several types of information available through Freedom of Information Act Requests (also known as public records requests on the state level). A general rule of thumb is that any information in possession of a government agency can be requested through a public record request, with some exemptions – trade secrets, confidential information, and privacy information.

Contract/RFP Related Requests: Any information sent to a government agency is considered public record, including proposals submitted in response to an RFP. Public records requests can be submitted to receive awarded contracts, scoring and evaluation sheets used to award the contract (with some state exceptions), and the submitted proposals. 

Please note: Freedom of information laws protect a company’s trade secret information. Any contract or proposal information released through a public records request will have a company’s trade secret information redacted. Federal agencies view entire proposals submitted in response to a solicitation as trade secrets and will not be released through Federal FOIA requests. 

Data Requests: Government agencies can collect a lot of public data that is only available through a public records request. FOIA Professional Services will submit data requests to agencies in all 50 states. Our fee is for the FOIA request service not the information received. Make the most of your Freedom of Information Act request, check out our Google reviews and see how we’ve delivered results for others. Any data we receive from a public records request will not be posted for resale online. It is the client’s information. 

Communications: As mentioned above, any information sent to a government agency can be requested through the public records request, including emails. FOIA Professional Services will submit requests for email communications between the subject government agency and a third party. In addition to emails, we will request meeting notes, board minutes and any other forms of communication sent on government issued devices. 

ADDITIONAL SERVICES:

FOIA Professional Services provides a start to finish FOIA service that begins before the request is submitted and continues after the request is closed. In addition to submitting FOIA requests (public records requests), we also provide add-on services to assist with finding the correct information needed to submit a request and then processing the information once it is received. 

BEFORE THE REQUEST:

FOIA Consulting: We have many clients that have an idea of what they want, but they are not sure what information is available, possible timeline of completion, and how to phrase/structure the request. This is where our expertise matters. We have been in the FOIA services business for over 9 years. We leverage that experience to guide our clients through the entire planning stage of their FOIA project. We consult on which states average the fastest public records request processing times, how to structure the request so the subject agency has a full understanding of the target information, which can assist with reducing the processing time, discuss possible obstacles and how to overcome them, and create a plan of action. 

These FOIA consultations put our clients in the best possible position for a successful FOIA Project. Reach out for a consultation about what type of Freedom of Information Act request will benefit you most.

Research Work: FOIA Professional Services will research the subject matter of your request and find the specific information needed to submit a FOIA request. Some clients know that the information exists, but may not know what agency to submit the request to or how to accurately describe the information they are seeking. If you’re unsure how to move forward with your Freedom of Information Act request, call us and we’ll walk you through it step by step. FOIA Professional Services will step in and research those items for you:

  1. Where to submit the request 
  2. What details to include in the scope of the request. We will scour the internet to find press releases, news articles, social media posts, websites, and industry publications that contain the information needed to submit the request. We perform this type of research for both individual requests and bulk order requests. Let us join your team and work together to get your FOIA project completed. Want to see what others say about their Freedom of Information Act request experience? Visit our testimonials page and hear it directly from our clients.

AFTER THE REQUEST IS COMPLETED

Data Entry: For some information we receive, the relevant data is not easily found. Instead, it takes a higher level reviewer to discover and pull out the target data. This is where FOIA Professional Services steps in and offers complex data entry solutions. Once we receive the responsive information from a FOIA request, it will be handed over to our data team to enter the target data into the format our client requires. There is no time lost from data retrieval to data entry. We begin the process by submitting the public records request and then finish the process when the data is entered into the clients system for review. It is a smooth and efficient process saving our clients time and resources. Don’t let your Freedom of Information Act request get lost in red tape, call us now and let’s handle it from start to finish. 

Information Summaries: A public records request can send back large volumes of important information you can use to make decisions. However, if you don’t have the time to read through all the responsive materials, you may miss some key points that will affect the decision making process. FOIA Professional Services solves this hurdle by compiling the key points from every piece of information into one easily readable summary report. This summary report can be reviewed over minutes instead of hours. A company’s decision makers and sales staff do not need to spend time sifting through hundreds of pages of information, if we can provide what they are looking for in a small packet. Don’t let valuable information be missed and valuable time be wasted. Let FOIA Professional Services pull out the key pieces of information for you.