Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

All requests for records should reasonably describe the record(s) sought. The requestor should indicate the willingness to pay processing fees, even if the requestor asks for a fee waiver. Written requests may be received via the online form below, postal service, or email. All requests must include the requestor’s postal mailing address.

When making at FOIA request, it is important to include all the following information:

• Documents or information you desire, be as specific as possible
• Description of the requester
• Purpose of the request
• If you would are willing to pay fees, or request a waiver.

Please consult the DOD FOIA Handbook for tips on proper request formats, and example letters.

Before submitting a request, please check to see if the information you seek is already in SIGAR’s Electronic Reading Room. Additionally, please review the SIGAR Privacy Act Policy.

If you are requesting personal information about or for another individual, you must furnish a signed authorization from that individual granting you the third-party access to this information.

Making a FOIA Appeal

Under the FOIA’s administrative appeal provision, a requester has the right to appeal any adverse determination SIGAR makes on his or her FOIA request.

You may file an administrative appeal if:

• You are not satisfied with a FOIA office’s initial determination;
• You disagree with the center’s withholding of information or you might believe that there are additional records responsive to your request that the center failed to locate;
• You have requested expedited processing or a fee waiver and the FOIA office has not granted that request;
• You may appeal a determination that what has been requested is not reasonably described, that a record does not exist or cannot be located, that a record is not readily reproducible in the form or format requested, that the requested information is not a record subject to the FOIA, or a determination regarding the charging of a fee.
• You do not receive a response from SIGAR’s FOIA Office within 20 working days.

Any administrative appeal to a request must be made in writing within 60 days of any initial decision to deny a request. The letter of appeal should state clearly why the requester disagrees with the determination to withhold records.

When submitting your appeal via mail, email, or fax please label the subject line “FOIA Appeal”.

Procedures

§9301.4 Availability of records.

SIGAR provides records to individual requesters in response to FOIA requests. Records that are required by the FOIA to be made available for public inspection and copying are accessible on SIGAR’s Web site. SIGAR will also identify records of interest to the public that are appropriate for public disclosure, and then post these records.

[77 FR 38171, June 27, 2012]

§9301.5 Accessing records without request

Certain SIGAR records, including the agency’s Quarterly Report, audit reports, testimony, oversight plans, press releases, other public issuances, and records that are required by 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(2) to be made publicly available are available electronically from SIGAR’s homepage at https://www.sigar.mil. SIGAR encourages requesters to visit its Web site before making a request for records under §9301.6.

[82 FR 712, Jan. 4, 2017]

§9301.6 Requesting records.

(a) Written requests required. For records not available as described under §9301.5, requesters wishing to obtain information from SIGAR should submit a written request to SIGAR’s FOIA Officer. Requests should be addressed to FOIA Officer, Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 2530 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. As there may be delays in mail delivery, it is advisable to send the request via facsimile to (703) 601-3804 or by email to sigar.pentagon.gen-coun.mbx.foia@mail.mil.

(b) Contents of requests. Requests should be as specific as possible and should reasonably specify the records sought so that the records can be located with a reasonable amount of effort. The request should identify the desired record or describe it, and include information such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record, where possible. The request should also include a statement of the requester’s willingness to pay fees, or request a fee waiver. The words “FOIA REQUEST” or “REQUEST FOR RECORDS” should be clearly marked on the cover letter, letter, and/or envelope.

(c) Response to requests—(1) Processing. SIGAR will provide an individualized tracking number, and estimated date of completion, and a brief description of the subjects of the request in an acknowledgement letter to the requester. The FOIA Officer shall determine within 20 days (except Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays) after receiving a request for records, whether it is appropriate to grant or deny the request. The 20-day period may be tolled once if the FOIA Officer requests information from the requestor or if additional time is necessary to clarify issues with the requestor regarding a fee assessment.

(i) Request granted. If the FOIA Officer decides to grant the request, either in-full or in-part, the FOIA Officer shall promptly provide the requester written notice of the decision. The FOIA Officer shall include with the notice both the requested records and a copy of the decision. The notice shall also describe the procedure for filing an appeal.

(ii) Adverse determinations. If the FOIA Officer denies the request, in full or part, or applies exemptions to withhold requested documents, the FOIA Officer shall provide the requester written notice of the adverse determination together with the approximate number of pages of information withheld and the exemption under which the information was withheld. SIGAR will indicate, if technically feasible, the amount of information deleted and the exemption under which the deletion is made at the place in the record where the deletion was made. SIGAR will also indicate the exemption under which a deletion is made on the released portion of the record, unless including that indication would harm an interest protected by the exemptions. The notice shall also describe the procedure for filing an appeal. SIGAR will further notify the requester of their right to seek assistance from SIGAR’s FOIA Public Liaison or dispute resolution services from the FOIA Public Liaison or the Office of Government Information Services in the case of an adverse determination.

(iii) Consultations and referrals: When SIGAR receives a request for a record in its possession, it will determine whether another agency of the Federal Government, is better able to determine whether the record is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA and, if so, whether it should be disclosed as a matter of administrative discretion. If SIGAR determines that it is best able to process the record in response to the request, then it will do so. If SIGAR determines that it is not best able to process the record, then it will either:

(A) Respond to the request regarding that record, after consulting with the agency best able to determine whether to disclose it and with any other agency that has a substantial interest in it; or

(B) Refer the responsibility for responding to the request regarding that record to the agency that originated the record (but only if that agency is subject to the FOIA). Ordinarily, the agency that originated a record will be presumed to be best able to determine whether to disclose it.

(2)(i) Expedited processing. At the time a requester submits an initial request for records the requester may ask the FOIA Officer in writing to expedite processing of the request. The request for expedited processing must be accompanied by a written statement, which shall state that it is true and correct to the best of the requester’s knowledge and belief, explaining why expedited processing is warranted. The FOIA Officer shall generally grant requests for expedited processing of requests for records, and appeals of denials under paragraph (d)(2) of this section, whenever the FOIA Officer determines that:

(A) Failure to obtain the requested records on an expedited basis could reasonably pose a threat to a person’s life or physical safety; or

(B) With respect to a request made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information, there is an urgency to inform the public about Government activity that is the specific subject of the FOIA request.

(ii) The FOIA Officer shall ordinarily decide within ten calendar days after receiving a request for expedited processing whether to grant it and shall notify the requester of the decision. If the FOIA Officer grants a request for expedited processing, the FOIA Officer shall process the request as soon as practicable. If the FOIA Officer denies a request for expedited processing, SIGAR shall act expeditiously on any appeal of that denial.

(3) Extension for unusual circumstances—

(i) In general. If the FOIA Officer determines that unusual circumstances exist, the FOIA Officer may extend for no more than ten days (except Saturdays, Sundays and Federal holidays) the time limits described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section by providing written notice of the extension to the requester. The FOIA Officer shall include with the notice a brief statement of the reason for the extension and the date the FOIA Officer expects to make the determination. If the extension goes beyond ten working days, the FOIA Officer will include a notification of the requester’s right to seek dispute resolutions services from the Office of Government Information Services.

(ii) Additional procedures. The FOIA Officer shall provide written notice to the requester if the FOIA Officer decides that the determination cannot be made within the time limit described in paragraph (c)(3)(i) of this section. The notice shall afford the requester an opportunity to limit the scope of the request to the extent necessary for the FOIA Officer to process it within that time limit or an opportunity to arrange a longer period for processing the request.

(d) Appeals—(1) Initiating appeals. Requesters not satisfied with the FOIA Officer’s written decision may request SIGAR’s FOIA Appellate Authority to review the decision. Appeals must be delivered in writing within 90 days of the date of the decision and shall be addressed to the FOIA Appellate Authority, Office of Privacy, Records & Disclosure, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, 2530 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. As there may be delays in mail delivery, it is advisable to Fax appeals to (703) 601-3804 or email to sigar.pentagon.gen-coun.mbx.foia@mail.mil. An appeal shall include a statement specifying the records that are the subject of the appeal and explaining why the Appellate Authority should grant the appeal.

(2) Appeal decisions. The Appellate Authority shall decide the appeal within 20 days (except Saturdays, Sundays and federal holidays) from the date it receives the appeal. If the Appellate Authority denies the appeal in full or part, the Appellate Authority shall promptly notify the requester in writing of the Appellate Authority’s decision and the provisions for judicial review. If the Appellate Authority grants the appeal, the FOIA Officer shall notify the requester in writing and shall make available to the requester copies of the releasable records once the requester pays any fees that SIGAR assesses under §§9301.8 through 9301.10.

(3) Dispute resolution. A response to an appeal will advise the requester that the 2007 FOIA amendments created the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) to offer dispute resolution services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies as a nonexclusive alternative to litigation. Dispute resolution is a voluntary process. A requester may contact OGIS in any of the following ways: Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740; Email: ogis@nara.gov; Telephone: 202-741-5770; Facsimile: 202-741-5769; Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448.

[77 FR 34180, June 11, 2012, as amended at 77 FR 38171, June 27, 2012; 82 FR 712, Jan. 4, 2017; 82 FR 28549, June 23, 2017]

Fee Waivers

FOIA requesters may be required to pay an associated fee to process the request. When assessable costs for a FOIA request total $25.00 or less, fees shall be waived automatically for all requesters, regardless of category.

Documents shall be furnished without charge, or at a reduced charge, when SIGAR determines that waiver or reduction of the fees is in the public interest because furnishing the information is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of SIGAR and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Decisions to waive or reduce fees that exceed the automatic waiver threshold shall be made on a case-by-case basis and after a search for responsive records is completed. Decisions will be made consistent with the consideration that disclosure of the information "is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the Government." The factors identified below must be met to some degree to warrant waiving or reducing assessable fees in the "public interest.".

• Subject of the Request. SIGAR will analyze whether the subject matter of the request involves issues that will significantly contribute to the public understanding of the operations or activities of SIGAR. Requests for records in the possession of SIGAR that were originated by non-government organizations and are sought for their intrinsic content, rather than informative value, will likely not contribute to public understanding of the operations or activities of SIGAR. An example of such records might be press clippings, magazine articles, or records forwarding a particular opinion or concern from a member of the public regarding a SIGAR activity. Similarly, disclosures of records of considerable age may or may not bear directly on the current activities of SIGAR; however, the age of a particular record shall not be the sole criterion for denying relative significance under this factor. It is possible to envisage an informative issue concerning current SIGAR activities, based upon historical documentation. Requests of this nature must be closely reviewed consistent with the requester’s stated purpose for desiring the records and the potential for public understanding of SIGAR operations and activities.
• Informative Value of the Information to be Disclosed. This factor requires a close analysis of the substantive contents of a record, or portion of the record, to determine whether disclosure is meaningful, and shall inform the public on the operations or activities of SIGAR. While the subject of a request may contain information that concerns SIGAR, it may not always hold great potential for contributing to a meaningful understanding of these operations or activities. An example of such would be a previously released record that has been heavily redacted, the balance of which may contain only random words, fragmented sentences, or paragraph headings. A determination as to whether a record in this situation will contribute to the public understanding of SIGAR operations or activities must be approached with caution, and carefully weighed against the arguments offered by the requester. Another example is information already known to be in the public domain. Disclosure of duplicative or nearly identical information already existing in the public domain may not add meaningful new information concerning the operations and activities of SIGAR.
• Contribution to an Understanding of the Subject by the General Public Likely to Result from Disclosure. The key element in determining the applicability of this factor is whether disclosure will inform, or have the potential to inform the public, rather than simply the individual requester or small segment of interested persons. The identity of the requester is essential in this situation in order to determine whether such requester has the capability and intention to disseminate the information to the public. Mere assertions of plans to author a book, researching a particular subject, doing doctoral dissertation work, or indigence are insufficient without demonstrating the capacity to further disclose the information in a manner that will be informative to the general public. Requesters should be asked to describe their qualifications, the nature of their research, the purpose of the requested information, and their intended means of dissemination to the public.
• Significance of the Contribution to Public Understanding. In applying this factor, SIGAR will differentiate the relative significance or impact of the disclosure against the current level of public knowledge, or understanding which exists before the disclosure. In other words, will disclosure on a current subject of wide public interest be unique in contributing previously unknown facts, thereby enhancing public knowledge, or will it basically duplicate what is already known by the general public? A decision regarding significance requires objective judgment, rather than subjective determination, and must be applied carefully to determine whether disclosure will likely lead to a significant public understanding of the issue. SIGAR will not make value judgments as to whether the information is important enough to be made public.

Disclosure of the information "is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester." Determining "commercial interest" requires consideration of the following issues:

• Existence and Magnitude of a Commercial Interest. If the request is determined to be of a commercial interest, SIGAR will address the magnitude of that interest to determine if the requester’s commercial interest is primary, as opposed to any secondary personal or non-commercial interest. In addition to profit-making organizations, individual persons or other organizations may have a commercial interest in obtaining certain records. Where it is difficult to determine whether the requester is of a commercial nature, SIGAR may draw inference from the requester’s identity and circumstances of the request. In order to apply the commercial standards of the FOIA, the requester’s commercial benefit must clearly override any personal or non-profit interest.
• Primary Interest in Disclosure. Once a requester’s commercial interest has been determined, SIGAR will then determine if the disclosure would be primarily in that interest. This requires a balancing test between the commercial interest of the request against any public benefit to be derived as a result of that disclosure. Where the public interest is served above and beyond that of the requester’s commercial interest, a waiver or reduction of fees would be appropriate. Conversely, even if a significant public interest exists, and the relative commercial interest of the requester is determined to be greater than the public interest, then a waiver or reduction of fees would be inappropriate. As examples, news media organizations have a commercial interest as business organizations; however, their inherent role of disseminating news to the general public can ordinarily be presumed to be of a primary interest. Therefore, any commercial interest becomes secondary to the primary interest in serving the public. Similarly, scholars writing books or engaged in other forms of academic research, may recognize a commercial benefit, either directly, or indirectly (through the institution they represent); however, normally such pursuits are primarily undertaken for educational purposes, and the application of a fee charge would be inappropriate. Conversely, data brokers or others who merely compile government information for marketing can normally be presumed to have an interest primarily of a commercial nature.

The factors and examples used in the subparagraphs above are not all inclusive. Each fee decision must be considered on a case-by-case basis and upon the merits of the information provided in each request. When the element of doubt as to whether to charge or waive the fee cannot be clearly resolved, SIGAR will rule in favor of the requester.

In addition, the following additional circumstances describe situations where waiver or reduction of fees are most likely to be warranted:

• A record is voluntarily created to prevent an otherwise burdensome effort to provide voluminous amounts of available records, including additional information not requested.
• A previous denial of records is reversed in total, or in part, and the assessable costs are not substantial (e.g. $25.00 - $50.00).