A FOIA request and a state public records request run under different laws. Federal FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552, covers federal executive-branch agencies and independent regulatory agencies. A city, county, school district or state agency answers under its own state’s public records law, which sets its own deadlines, fees and exemptions. Use the law that governs whoever holds the record.

Picture a hypothetical parent who wants the bus contract their school district signed last spring. The parent writes Freedom of Information Act request across the top, cites 5 U.S.C. § 552, and starts counting FOIA’s twenty days. The letter cites a federal law that does not cover the district, and that clock belongs to federal agencies. The parent is now holding the district to a deadline from a statute that does not bind it, while the state law that does bind it sits unread.

A FOIA request is a request for records made to a federal agency under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

FOIA stops at the edge of the federal executive branch

The statute defines its own reach. Under 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1), “agency” includes “any executive department, military department, Government corporation, Government controlled corporation, or other establishment in the executive branch of the Government”, along with “any independent regulatory agency”. That definition builds on 5 U.S.C. § 551(1), which leaves out Congress and the courts of the United States.

The National Archives says the rest out loud. Its FOIA Reference Guide states that “the FOIA does not apply to records of state or local government agencies, or records of private businesses or individuals”, and that “All states have their own statutes governing public access to state and local government records.” The same guide lists Congress, the federal courts and the records of the President while in office as outside FOIA too.

Within those limits, and subject to its exemptions, the statute makes records “promptly available to any person” whose request reasonably describes them and follows the agency’s published rules (§ 552(a)(3)(A)), and it gives the agency 20 days “(excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays)” to decide whether to comply (§ 552(a)(6)(A)(i)). In unusual circumstances, the agency may extend that by written notice, and § 552(a)(6)(B)(i) caps the extension at ten working days, except as provided in clause (ii). FOIA.gov adds that “Congress established nine exemptions from disclosure” and that each federal agency processes its own records. The same page says a request gets the quickest possible response when it goes directly to the FOIA office of the agency or component you believe has the records.

Your city hall answers to the state legislature, and each state wrote its own rulebook

State public records laws decide which local bodies they cover, and they cover a lot. Florida’s definition in section 119.011(2) of the 2026 Florida Statutes reaches “any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law”, and also any private entity “acting on behalf of any public agency.” Washington’s RCW 42.56.010(1) says “Agency” includes all state agencies and all local agencies, and defines local agencies to include every county, city, town and special purpose district.

The names add to the confusion. Michigan’s state law is itself titled the Freedom of Information Act, Act 442 of 1976, and its definition of a public body in MCL 15.232 includes a county, city, township, village, school district, special district or municipal corporation, while leaving out the judiciary. A Michigan resident who files a “FOIA request” with a city is using the right word for the wrong reason: the request runs under Michigan’s act, and the federal statute has nothing to say about it.

The clocks differ, and they matter more than the names. Michigan’s MCL 15.235 requires a written request to the public body’s FOIA coordinator and, unless the requester agrees otherwise in writing, a response within 5 business days, which can be a grant, a written notice of denial, a partial grant with a written notice denying the rest, or a notice extending the deadline by not more than 10 business days, and “A public body shall not issue more than 1 notice of extension for a particular request.” Washington’s RCW 42.56.520 says responses “shall be made promptly” and requires one of several listed responses within five business days, one of which is an acknowledgment with a reasonable estimate of the time the agency needs. Florida’s section 119.07(1)(c) sets no day count; a custodian “must acknowledge requests to inspect or copy records promptly and respond to such requests in good faith.”

Fees split the same way. In Florida, if a fee is not prescribed by law, section 119.07(4)(a) authorizes up to 15 cents per one-sided copy for duplicated copies of not more than 14 inches by 8 1/2 inches, and section 119.07(4)(d) allows a special service charge that “shall be reasonable and shall be based on the cost incurred” when a request needs extensive staff or technology work. Those are Florida numbers, and the federal fee rules in § 552(a)(4) are a separate system. A requester who quotes the federal fee rules to a Florida custodian is quoting rules that do not bind that custodian.

Follow the record to its holder, then cite that holder’s law

The useful question is not which law sounds better. The question is who holds the paper, because the holder decides the statute, the office and the deadline. The name-the-document approach starts the same way, by working out which office creates a record before asking for it.

1. Identify the holder. Work out which body created or keeps the record: a federal executive agency, a state agency, or a local body such as a city, county or school district.
2. Pick the statute that covers that holder. Federal executive agencies: 5 U.S.C. § 552. State and local bodies: that state’s records law. Check the state’s own definition of “agency” or “public body” if the holder is unusual, such as a special district or a private company working for an agency (Florida’s s. 119.011(2) covers private entities acting on behalf of a public agency).
3. Send it to the right desk. FOIA.gov advises sending federal requests directly to the FOIA office of the agency or component you believe has the records. In Michigan, MCL 15.235(1) names the public body’s FOIA coordinator.
4. Calendar the state’s clock, not FOIA’s. Note the response period in that statute, in its own units: business days in Michigan and Washington, no fixed day count in Florida’s s. 119.07(1)(c).
5. Split a two-level record into two requests. As a general matter, when the same subject leaves paper at both a federal agency and a local government, each copy belongs to its holder, so the federal agency’s file goes under FOIA and the city’s file goes under state law.

The FOIA Engineering Playbook is free. Citing the right statute is no promise of a record, and an agency’s certification that no responsive record exists is a legitimate answer. What the right citation does is point you to the deadline and fee rules the custodian actually works under.

A records request is a letter addressed to a rulebook. Address it to the one the agency actually has to read.

Where REVOLT fits in

REVOLT Training works both sides of the public records table: it teaches people who file requests and runs governance diagnostics for institutions. Its Must Exist method is to find the written rule an agency adopted for itself, work out what paper it produces, and ask for that paper by name, citing the rule. The Must Exist Autopsy is a live class on public records request practice, and the Must Exist Campaign is a records engagement that applies the same method on your behalf, against an agency you name.

REVOLT does not provide legal representation or legal advice, and it does not promise that any agency will produce any particular record. Where a question turns on your own facts or your own jurisdiction, involve counsel licensed in your state. If your question turns on a specific denial, an unfamiliar exemption or another state’s statute, book a call.

FAQ

Can I file a FOIA request with my city or county?

Not under the federal law. The National Archives’ FOIA Reference Guide states that FOIA does not apply to records of state or local government agencies, and that all states have their own statutes governing access to state and local records. File with the city or county under your state’s public records law; in Michigan, that state law is also named the Freedom of Information Act.

Does federal FOIA cover Congress or the federal courts?

No. FOIA’s definition of agency in 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1) covers the federal executive branch and independent regulatory agencies, and the base definition in 5 U.S.C. § 551(1) excludes Congress and the courts of the United States. The National Archives’ guide lists both as outside FOIA.

How long does a state agency have to answer a public records request?

Each state’s own statute sets the clock, so the answer changes at the state line. Washington’s RCW 42.56.520 requires one of several listed responses within five business days, Michigan’s MCL 15.235 requires a response within 5 business days unless the requester agrees otherwise in writing, with one extension of not more than 10 business days, and Florida’s section 119.07(1)(c) requires a prompt acknowledgment and a good-faith response without a fixed day count. Federal FOIA’s 20-day period applies only to federal agencies.

Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to make a records request?

Not for federal FOIA: FOIA.gov states that “Generally any person – United States citizen or not – can make a FOIA request.” Florida’s section 119.07(1)(a) opens records to “any person desiring to do so.” States write their own requester rules, though: Michigan’s MCL 15.232 defines “person” broadly but excludes an individual serving a sentence of imprisonment in a state, county or federal correctional facility.

Sources

• 5 U.S.C. § 552, Freedom of Information Act (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• 5 U.S.C. § 551, Definitions (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FOIA.gov, U.S. Department of Justice). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Reference Guide (National Archives and Records Administration). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• Florida Statutes s. 119.011, Definitions (The Florida Senate). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• Florida Statutes s. 119.07, Inspection and copying of records (The Florida Senate). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• RCW 42.56.010, Definitions (Washington State Legislature). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• RCW 42.56.520, Prompt responses required (Washington State Legislature). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• MCL 15.232, Definitions, Michigan Freedom of Information Act (Michigan Legislature). Retrieved 2026-10-09.
• MCL 15.235, Michigan Freedom of Information Act (Michigan Legislature). Retrieved 2026-10-09.