FOIA hub
Public-records requests & tracking
Federal FOIA + 50-state public-records portals, a template generator, and a workflow for marking responsive documents as ready for legal review. TruthMark doesn't submit, store, or intermediate FOIA requests — you file directly with the agency and keep the responses yourself.
Template generator
Draft a FOIA / public-records request
Fill in the three fields below. The generator renders a draft request you can copy into the agency's portal or email to their FOIA officer. Nothing is sent anywhere — this is template rendering only. No data leaves your browser session.
Legal-review workflow
When responsive documents arrive, mark them for legal review
Agencies vary wildly in how they deliver FOIA responses — PDFs, scanned image bundles, password-protected ZIPs, Bates-stamped pages, or rolling productions. Before publishing anything you receive, run through this checklist with a legal expert (your outlet's lawyer, a media-law fellow, or your IRB).
- Verify the redactions.Each redaction should cite a specific exemption (FOIA b(1)-(9) for federal; state- specific for state requests). If an exemption isn't cited, the redaction is challengeable on appeal.
- Check Bates numbering / page-count integrity. Missing page numbers in a series almost always indicate withheld pages. Make sure the agency's cover letter accounts for any withheld counts.
- Identify any privileged content. Attorney- client privileged or deliberative-process privileged content sometimes gets released anyway. Check with a lawyer before publishing; some jurisdictions allow agencies to claw it back.
- Cross-reference with the original request. Compare what you asked for to what was provided. Material mismatches are appealable.
- Scan for PII you didn't ask for. Sometimes agencies release more than they should — SSNs, home addresses, third-party names. Even if the agency released it, publishing it can create liability and harm. Redact before posting.
- Save the cover letter + transmittal email. These are part of the records request's legal trail and may matter for future appeals.
Note on this workflowTruthMark doesn't store or intermediate FOIA documents. The checklist above is a methodology aid; the actual document review happens in your own systems with your own legal team. If you need document-hosting and collaboration tools, see DocumentCloud (linked below). If you need a media-law lawyer, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press hotline is the standard entry-point.
Federal FOIA
Federal Freedom of Information Act
United States (federal)
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552)
FOIA.gov — central federal portal
FOIA.gov routes requests to the right federal agency. Most agencies also have their own FOIA reading rooms with pre-released documents.
State public records (51 jurisdictions)
State public-records statutes & portals
Every state has its own statute. Some states have dedicated oversight bodies (CT FOI Commission, IL Public Access Counselor, IN Public Access Counselor, PA Office of Open Records, VA FOIA Council); most route through the AG's office.
Alabama
Open ↗Open Records Act (Ala. Code § 36-12-40)
AL AG — Open Government
Alaska
Open ↗Public Records Act (AS § 40.25.110)
AK DOL — Public Records
Arizona
Open ↗Public Records Law (A.R.S. § 39-121)
AZ AG — Open Government
Arkansas
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (Ark. Code § 25-19-101)
AR AG — FOIA
California
Open ↗California Public Records Act (Gov. Code § 7920+)
CA AG — Open Government
CA also has the Brown Act (open meetings) and the Bagley-Keene Act for state bodies.
Colorado
Open ↗Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) (C.R.S. § 24-72-201)
CO AG — Open Government
Connecticut
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-200)
CT Freedom of Information Commission
CT has an independent Freedom of Information Commission with binding adjudication.
Delaware
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (29 Del. C. § 10001)
DE DOJ — FOIA
District of Columbia
Open ↗DC FOIA (D.C. Code § 2-531)
DC Office of the Secretary — FOIA
Florida
Open ↗Public Records Law (Fla. Stat. ch. 119) — 'Sunshine Law'
FL AG — Sunshine Law
Florida's Sunshine Law is among the broadest in the U.S.; verbal requests are valid.
Georgia
Open ↗Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70)
GA AG — Open Government
Hawaii
Open ↗Uniform Information Practices Act (HRS § 92F)
HI Office of Information Practices
Idaho
Open ↗Public Records Act (Idaho Code § 74-101)
ID AG — Sunshine Laws
Illinois
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140)
IL AG — Public Access Counselor
IL has a Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the AG's office for FOIA disputes.
Indiana
Open ↗Access to Public Records Act (Ind. Code § 5-14-3)
IN Public Access Counselor
Iowa
Open ↗Open Records (Iowa Code ch. 22)
IA Public Information Board
Kansas
Open ↗Open Records Act (K.S.A. § 45-215)
KS AG — Open Government
ag.ks.gov is Akamai-fronted; bot-block to non-browser clients.
Kentucky
Open ↗Open Records Act (KRS § 61.870)
KY AG — Open Records
Louisiana
Open ↗Public Records Act (La. R.S. § 44:1)
LA AG — Public Records
Maine
Open ↗Freedom of Access Act (1 M.R.S. § 401)
ME — Freedom of Access
Maryland
Open ↗Public Information Act (GP § 4-101)
MD AG — Open Government
Massachusetts
Open ↗Public Records Law (M.G.L. ch. 66)
MA Secretary of the Commonwealth — Public Records
mass.gov / sec.state.ma.us bot-block non-browser clients.
Michigan
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (MCL § 15.231)
MI — FOIA
Minnesota
Open ↗Government Data Practices Act (Minn. Stat. ch. 13)
MN Department of Administration — Data Practices
Mississippi
Open ↗Public Records Act (Miss. Code § 25-61-1)
MS SOS — Public Records
Missouri
Open ↗Sunshine Law (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.010)
MO AG — Sunshine Law
Montana
Open ↗Right to Know (Mont. Const. art. II § 9; § 2-6-1001)
MT SOS — Records
Nebraska
Open ↗Public Records Statutes (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712)
NE AG — Public Records
Nevada
Open ↗Public Records Act (NRS § 239)
NV AG — Open Government
New Hampshire
Open ↗Right-to-Know Law (RSA ch. 91-A)
NH DOJ — Right-to-Know
NH DOJ bot-blocks non-browser clients.
New Jersey
Open ↗Open Public Records Act (OPRA) (N.J.S.A. § 47:1A-1)
NJ Government Records Council
New Mexico
Open ↗Inspection of Public Records Act (NMSA § 14-2-1)
NM AG — IPRA
New York
Open ↗Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law § 84)
NY Committee on Open Government — FOIL
North Carolina
Open ↗Public Records Law (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1)
NC AG — Open Government
North Dakota
Open ↗Open Records Law (N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18)
ND AG — Open Records & Meetings
Ohio
Open ↗Public Records Act (R.C. § 149.43)
OH AG — Sunshine Laws
Oklahoma
Open ↗Open Records Act (51 O.S. § 24A.1)
OK AG — Public Integrity
Oregon
Open ↗Public Records Law (ORS § 192.311)
OR DOJ — Public Records
Pennsylvania
Open ↗Right-to-Know Law (65 P.S. § 67.101)
PA Office of Open Records
PA has a dedicated Office of Open Records with appeal authority.
Rhode Island
Open ↗Access to Public Records Act (R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-1)
RI AG — APRA
South Carolina
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (S.C. Code § 30-4-10)
SC AG — FOIA
South Dakota
Open ↗Open Records (SDCL § 1-27-1)
SD AG — Civil / Open Records
Tennessee
Open ↗Public Records Act (T.C.A. § 10-7-503)
TN Office of Open Records Counsel
Texas
Open ↗Public Information Act (Tex. Gov't Code ch. 552)
TX AG — Open Government
Utah
Open ↗Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) (UCA § 63G-2)
UT State Archives — GRAMA
Vermont
Open ↗Public Records Act (1 V.S.A. § 315)
VT SOS — Public Records
Virginia
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (Va. Code § 2.2-3700)
VA FOIA Council
Washington
Open ↗Public Records Act (RCW ch. 42.56)
WA SOS — Open Government
West Virginia
Open ↗Freedom of Information Act (W.V. Code § 29B-1-1)
WV AG — Public Access
Wisconsin
Open ↗Public Records Law (Wis. Stat. § 19.31)
WI DOJ — Office of Open Government
Wyoming
Open ↗Public Records Act (Wyo. Stat. § 16-4-201)
WY AG (statute-only; no dedicated portal)
Third-party tools
Beyond the agency portals
MuckRock
Open ↗FOIA submission, tracking, and document-hosting platform. Free for journalists and members of the public; paid tiers for newsrooms. Coordinates collaborative requests across jurisdictions.
DocumentCloud
Open ↗Document-hosting and analysis platform built for news organizations. Free for verified journalists. OCR, annotation, and embed-friendly viewers for published documents.
NFOIC — National FOI Coalition
Open ↗Network of state FOI coalitions providing per-state expertise. Useful when you hit jurisdiction-specific procedural problems and need to find a local advocate.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Open ↗Media-law support for journalists. Operates a legal-defense hotline (1-800-336-4243) for FOIA disputes, source protection, and publication review.
FOIA Wiki
Open ↗Community-maintained reference for federal FOIA — agency contacts, exemption analysis, case law, fee waiver examples. Lives outside of any single newsroom.
TruthMark does NOT submit, host, intermediate, or cache FOIA requests or responses. The template generator above runs entirely in your browser session and prints a draft you copy elsewhere. You file with the agency directly; the agency responds to you directly. Keep your own copies; check with your legal team before publishing.
See also: Investigation playbook · Cross-module name search · Verify (OSINT toolkit)