FOIA State Residency Requirement

Question

FOIA State Residency Requirement

Asked by Tom Kelly on June 7, 2016.

4 answers from Jack R-W, C T and Tom Kelly.

Tom Kelly 06/07/2016

Hello all, I want to make a FOIA request in the State of Missouri, specifically a request for documents of a school district. I was told by the school district that FOIA requests can only be made by residents of Missouri. First, does this sound accurate? and second, is there a way around this provision if in fact FOIA requests are limited to state residents in Missouri? Needless to say, I am not a resident of Missouri.<br /> Thanks in advance for any insight or assistance on this. TK

Answer 1 · 2016-06-12T14:49:39.185319-04:00

C T 06/12/2016

From the foia.gov Frequently Asked Questions page: Who can make a FOIA request? Generally any person – United States citizen or not – can make a FOIA request.

Answer 2 · 2016-06-14T03:39:56.712973-04:00

Jack R-W 06/14/2016

Federal FOIA is open to anyone. Some states have residency requirements. As far as I am aware, Muckrock has people in place for those requests.

Answer 3 · 2016-06-14T15:27:30.314255-04:00

Tom Kelly 06/14/2016

Thank you for the responses … so it seems that the federal law relative to FOIA does not override any local regulations … to Jack … how do I find the the people in Muckrock to help me with this request?

Tom

Answer 4 · 2016-06-14T19:20:47.562871-04:00

Jack R-W 06/14/2016

As far as I know, you just have to file it.