Questions, answered as numbered clauses.

FOIA is the federal Freedom of Information Act. It applies to federal executive-branch agencies: departments, bureaus and their components. It does not reach state or local governments (that is CORA and its equivalents), Congress or the courts.

Federal requests follow each agency’s own FOIA channel and reference its nine exemption categories. We file, track and follow up on federal requests the same disciplined way we do Colorado ones.

Under CORA, a custodian generally has three business days to allow inspection of records or to put in writing why more time is needed; extensions have their own limits and must be explained. Under FOIA, a federal agency has twenty business days to respond, although backlogs and permitted extensions mean the real-world timeline is often longer.

Whatever the clock is, we record it on the day of filing and watch it. Deadline tracking (Form S-03) exists so that a due date never passes unnoticed.

A denial should arrive in writing and cite the ground for it. That letter is not the end of the file; it is a documented step in it. Depending on the record and the law involved, the next step may be an administrative appeal, review by a higher authority within the agency, or an application to court.

Our appeal and escalation guidance (Form S-04) explains, in plain language, what the denial allows you to do next and what that route usually requires. We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice; if your situation needs an attorney, we will tell you so.

Silence is itself a documented position once the statutory clock runs out. We send a dated follow-up, keep the record of it, and then set out the options a non-response opens: escalation within the agency, the appeal route the law provides, or, for Colorado matters, the courts.

Doing nothing is the one response that guarantees nothing. The file keeps moving either way.

A redaction is material blacked out or withheld from an otherwise released record. Agencies are expected to cite the exemption that justifies each withholding, and a release covered in unexplained black bars is a release worth questioning.

Our redaction review notes (Form S-05) go through what was withheld and which exemption was cited, in plain language, so you can decide whether to push back. We report what the agency says; we do not interpret it the way a lawyer would, because we are not one.

Custodians may charge fees for retrieving, researching and copying records, according to the schedules they publish; federal FOIA fees depend on the category of requester, and fee waivers can be requested where the law allows.

Before we file, we check what the custodian’s published schedule says and flag any fee the agency is likely to raise, so a charge is never a surprise. Open Records Request itself quotes its engagements separately and in writing before any work starts.

Federal FOIA requests, yes - they are national by definition. For other states, every state has its own open records law with its own deadlines and exemptions; we take those on request and will tell you honestly, before starting, whether we are the right people for that state’s law.

The subject: what record you want to see. The period: the dates it should cover. The agency: who you think holds it, if you know. The format: whether you need the native file, a copy or inspection. And your contact details so the file has an owner.

If you cannot answer all of that, start with the subject. Identifying the custodian is part of what we do.

No. Open Records Request is a records assistance company, not a law firm, and nothing we publish or write is legal advice. We know the procedure - the forms, the channels, the clocks, the exemptions as agencies cite them - and we explain it plainly.

When a matter crosses into legal territory, we say so and recommend you speak with a licensed attorney. Pretending otherwise would help nobody’s file.

The company is remote-first: our address line reads “Remote-first, Colorado, US” and the team is based around Denver. The work is reading, writing, electronic filing and telephone calls with custodians, none of which needs a lobby.

You reach Matthew Kabriel by phone or email, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Mountain Time, and every request is documented in writing. Details are on the contact page.