The Freedom of Information Act Program (DODR 5400.7) allows the general public including foreign citizens, military and civilian personnel acting as private citizens, to request records electronically or in writing from the Federal Government. Some records are released to the public under the Freedom of Information Act, and may therefore reflect deletion of some information in accordance with the FOIA's nine statutory exemptions or two law enforcement record exclusions. A consolidated list of such records is on Defense Link and the U.S. Air Force FOIA site. Currently the law requires agencies to respond within 20 working days upon receipt of the request in the FOIA office.

The FOIA allows fee charges based on the requester's category. There are three categories: commercial (pay search, review and reproduction fees); educational, non-commercial scientific institution and news media (pay reproduction fees; first 100 pages provided at no cost); and others (pay search and reproduction fees; first two hours search and 100 pages provided at no cost). For information on FOIA fees read PART 286--DOD FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM REGULATION here.

Family of a deceased member - free processing / fees waived.

Fee Waivers: If you are advised or expect to that a fee will be charged, you may request in writing a waiver of those fees if the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to significantly contribute to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest. of the requester. The mere fact you are a non-profit organization or a member of the media does not in and of itself qualify for a fee waiver. Also, a requester's inability to pay is not a legal basis for granting a fee waiver. 

For fastest times, the Air Force has decentralized its FOIA program.  If you want to submit a FOIA request online "CLICK HERE".  Please note, this is a new link so, the previous link is no longer valid.  Please ensure you use the new Public Access Link (PAL) provided above to submit official Freedom of Information Act Request.  This link is currently incompatible with Google Chrome.

No single office handles all FOIA requests. If you prefer not to submit on line you can mail/fax your request to the FOIA Requester Service Center where the record is located or the particular base or activity that has the records you want. If you don't know which Air Force activity has the records you want, mail your request to:  SAF/AAII, 1000 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1000.  Ensure you describe the records you want as specifically as possible, and let the office know how much you are willing to pay.

 Furnish any facts or clues about the time, place, persons, events, subjects, or other details of the information or records you want. That will help the office decide where to search and determine what records pertain to your request. It can also save you and the government time and money, and you may get what you want faster. There is no special form to complete. Mark your request and envelope "FOIA."

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