Can I request a copy of documents held by a public authority?
Yes — the Freedom of Information Act gives you that right, with a 20-day clock and one significant cost cap.
Yes. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, anyone — not just UK residents — can ask a public authority whether it holds specific recorded information, and request a copy of it. The authority normally has 20 working days to respond, confirming whether it holds the information and providing it unless one of the Act's specific exemptions applies. The main practical limit isn't a blanket refusal right — it's cost: if answering would cost more than £450 to prepare, the authority doesn't have to comply at all.
How the process works
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| You submit a request | In writing (email counts), describing the information you want — you don't need to name the Act or use special wording |
| Authority responds | Within 20 working days, confirming whether it holds the information ("duty to confirm or deny") |
| Information is provided | Unless an exemption applies — there are 23 exemptions under the Act, and the authority must tell you which one it used, unless naming it would itself reveal the withheld content |
| Cost check | If complying would cost more than £450 (calculated at £25/hour, so roughly 18 hours of work), the authority isn't obliged to provide the information at all |
What the £450 limit actually means for you
If your request would exceed the cost limit, the authority should tell you and offer the chance to narrow or reframe the request to bring it under the threshold, rather than simply refusing outright. If the authority chooses to issue a fees notice for a request that's within the limit but attracts a charge (for photocopying, postage, or similar), the 20-working-day clock pauses from the moment the fees notice is issued until payment is received.
Watch for aggregation: if you (or people acting together, like a campaign) submit multiple related requests for similar information within 60 working days, the authority can add up the estimated cost across all of them when applying the £450 limit.
Writing an effective request
- Be specific about what you want — vague requests are more likely to be challenged as exceeding the cost limit, since the authority has to search broadly to answer them.
- You don't need to mention the Freedom of Information Act by name for the request to count, though doing so makes your intent unambiguous.
- Put it in writing (email is fine) so there's a clear record of when the 20-working-day clock started.
- If you're asking for your own personal data specifically, that's usually a Subject Access Request under data protection law rather than an FOI request — the two have different rules and timescales.
What to do if your request is refused or ignored
- Check whether the authority cited a specific exemption — if not, and they simply haven't responded, that's a straightforward delay you can escalate.
- If the £450 limit was cited, ask whether narrowing the request would bring it under the threshold.
- If you disagree with an exemption being applied, most authorities have an internal review process — ask for one before going further.
- If you remain unhappy after that, you can ask the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to investigate how your request was handled.
How is the £450 cost limit for FOI requests calculated? The £450 limit is calculated at a notional rate of £25 per hour, meaning an authority can refuse a request if it estimates that finding, retrieving and extracting the information would take more than 18 hours of staff time. Requests can sometimes be aggregated together for this calculation if they're linked and made within a 60-working-day window.
What can I do if a public authority refuses my FOI request? The authority must tell you which exemption it relied on, unless doing so would reveal the withheld information itself. If you're unhappy with the response, you can ask the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to investigate how your request was handled.
Related questions
Official sources
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