Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Office

To make a FOIA request to the Virginia National Guard, please email ng.va.vaarng.mbx.ngva-foia@army.mil.

For more information about Freedom of Information Act requests, visit the following links:

National Guard Bureau Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Office
https://va.ng.mil/Home/FOIA/


Essential Elements of a FOIA Request

  • Cite that you are requesting records under the FOIA
  • Provide your full name and contact information, to include e-mail address to expedite communications
  • Provide a reasonable description of the record(s) requested as well as the office(s) you believe are most likely to have the records sought. A listing of the offices serviced by this requestor service center can be found here.
  • Provide a statement of your fee category and indicate your willingness to pay applicable fees for processing. You may include a dollar amount you are willing to pay up to, or you may leave the amount you are willing to pay open ended.


Fee Categories

Educational, Noncommercial, Scientific, and Media:
Any accredited U.S. educational or research institution or instructor of an institution, or representative of the news media using the information in a scholarly or analytical work contributing to public knowledge and disseminated to the public.

Commercial:
Increases the commercial interest of the requestor.

All Others:
All other requestors


Fees
The FOIA provides for the collection of fees for:

  • Searches: Time spent in looking for and retrieving material, either paper or electronic files, that are responsive to the request to include personnel hours (clerical and professional) and computer time.
  • Reviews: Time spent to determine if the record is releasable under legal guidelines, excluding resolution of legal or policy issues. This does include time spent excising text that is exempt under FOIA.
  • Reproduction: Generating a copy of a requested record in the appropriate medium, for example paper or computer file.
    Fees rates and schedules can be found in DoD 5400.7, DoD Freedom of Information Act Program, and on the DD 2086, Record of FOI Costs.


FOIA Links

• FOIA Reading Room

• FOIA Library

• DoD FOIA Handbook

• Defense Technical Information Center Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requester Service Center