Great tips! I file a lot of public records requests in Iowa and agree that it's important to become familiar with your state's law, and cite that law in your request. (So if I am requesting state or local government records, I would say I am requesting records "under Iowa Code Chapter 22," not "under the Freedom of Information Act.")
Finding out as much as you can before you make the request is important because in Iowa, if your request is overly broad they can try to charge you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Learn who is responsible for what in your local or state government. I have filed requests to the wrong agency and come up empty.
Many states have transparency organizations that can guide you. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council has sample letters and lots of other helpful information on their website.
A couple of other tips: many government officials use multiple email addresses, so I would never cite a specific email address like John.doe@iowa.gov in a request. Ask for all written correspondence in the possession of whatever agency to or from John Doe, regardless of the email account used (or cell phone for text messages).
A former government employee once told me that I had missed an important email chain because I had requested correspondence to or from John Doe, and on that particular chain John Doe was cc'd on the correspondence (not the sender or the main recipient). I think they should have provided it, because it contained emails he received. But since then I have tried to put wording along these lines into my requests: "I am seeking all emails in the possession of the Department of Whatever, whether John Doe was the original sender, the main recipient, or cc'd on the correspondence."
Also ask what their email retention policy is. I once did a records request of the governor's office that came up empty, but when I asked another agency, I got an email that included a fwd: at the bottom from the governor's office. It turned out that the governor's office had decided that their retention policy was to delete all emails at the end of every day. That became its own story!
Great tips! I file a lot of public records requests in Iowa and agree that it's important to become familiar with your state's law, and cite that law in your request. (So if I am requesting state or local government records, I would say I am requesting records "under Iowa Code Chapter 22," not "under the Freedom of Information Act.")
Finding out as much as you can before you make the request is important because in Iowa, if your request is overly broad they can try to charge you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Learn who is responsible for what in your local or state government. I have filed requests to the wrong agency and come up empty.
Many states have transparency organizations that can guide you. The Iowa Freedom of Information Council has sample letters and lots of other helpful information on their website.
A couple of other tips: many government officials use multiple email addresses, so I would never cite a specific email address like John.doe@iowa.gov in a request. Ask for all written correspondence in the possession of whatever agency to or from John Doe, regardless of the email account used (or cell phone for text messages).
A former government employee once told me that I had missed an important email chain because I had requested correspondence to or from John Doe, and on that particular chain John Doe was cc'd on the correspondence (not the sender or the main recipient). I think they should have provided it, because it contained emails he received. But since then I have tried to put wording along these lines into my requests: "I am seeking all emails in the possession of the Department of Whatever, whether John Doe was the original sender, the main recipient, or cc'd on the correspondence."
Also ask what their email retention policy is. I once did a records request of the governor's office that came up empty, but when I asked another agency, I got an email that included a fwd: at the bottom from the governor's office. It turned out that the governor's office had decided that their retention policy was to delete all emails at the end of every day. That became its own story!