Michigan Freedom of Information Act Request

MICHIGAN FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

(MCL 15.231 et seq.)

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. Send a written request to the public body's FOIA coordinator that describes the record sufficiently to permit the public body to find it. Except for an individual qualifying as indigent under MCL 15.234(2)(a), the request must include the requester's complete name, USPS-compliant address, and valid telephone number or email address. An entity requester must also provide that information for its individual agent. MCL 15.233(1).
2. A “person” entitled to request records does not include an individual serving a sentence of imprisonment in a state, county, or federal correctional facility. MCL 15.232(g).
3. The public body must respond within five business days after receipt by granting, denying, granting in part and denying in part, or issuing one extension of no more than ten business days. An emailed, faxed, or otherwise electronically transmitted request is generally received one business day after transmission; a spam-folder rule may further affect receipt. MCL 15.235(1)-(2).
4. A denial notice must explain the legal basis, certify that the record does not exist under the given or another reasonably known name if that is the reason, describe separated or deleted material, explain administrative and judicial options, give notice of potential court fees and damages, and be signed by the responsible person. MCL 15.235(5)-(6).
5. The Act does not require creation of a new record or a compilation, summary, or report except as specifically provided. MCL 15.233(4)-(5).
6. Search, examination, review, redaction, duplication, media, paper, and mailing charges are governed by six statutory fee components and the public body's published procedures. Search and review charges require “unreasonably high costs” in the particular instance, specifically identified by the body. MCL 15.234(1), (3)-(4).
7. Employee labor is generally limited to the hourly wage of the lowest-paid capable employee, with applicable search and redaction time billed in 15-minute-or-longer increments and partial increments rounded down. The body may add documented actual fringe benefits up to 50%. Standard paper is capped at $0.10 per sheet. MCL 15.234(1)-(2).
8. A request is not a contract. Delete unused bracketed instructions and do not add warranties, covenants, defaults, cure periods, indemnities, force majeure, arbitration clauses, jury waivers, assignment restrictions, integration clauses, or execution formalities.

REQUEST LETTER

Date: [DATE]

Method: [EMAIL / MAIL / FACSIMILE / PORTAL / HAND DELIVERY]

To:
[FOIA COORDINATOR]
[PUBLIC BODY]
[OFFICE OR DIVISION]
[ADDRESS / EMAIL / FACSIMILE / PORTAL]

From:
[REQUESTER NAME]
[INDIVIDUAL AGENT NAME, IF REQUESTER IS AN ENTITY]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[USPS-COMPLIANT MAILING ADDRESS]
[VALID EMAIL]
[VALID TELEPHONE]

Re: Michigan FOIA Request — [SUBJECT]

Dear FOIA Coordinator:

Under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, MCL 15.231 et seq., I request inspection and/or copies of the public records described below.

1. Records Requested

1. [DESCRIBE THE FIRST RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
2. [DESCRIBE THE SECOND RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
3. [ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMIZED REQUESTS.]

Date range: [START DATE] through [END DATE]

Relevant office, official, employee, contractor, project, contract, incident, matter, or file number: [DETAILS]

Helpful custodians, email addresses, search terms, databases, or field names: [DETAILS]

This request seeks existing records and does not ask the public body to create a new record, compilation, summary, or report. If clarification would help locate the records or reduce cost, please contact me at [EMAIL / TELEPHONE].

2. Inspection, Copies, Format, and Delivery

I request:

• ☐ inspection during usual business hours;
• ☐ electronic delivery;
• ☐ records on this reasonably economical nonpaper medium: [MEDIUM];
• ☐ paper copies;
• ☐ inspection first, with copies selected afterward;
• ☐ certified copies; or
• ☐ another available method: [METHOD].

Preferred delivery or inspection method: [EMAIL / SECURE LINK / PORTAL / APPOINTMENT / MAIL / PICKUP].

3. Fees, Itemization, Deposit, and Reduction

I authorize lawful fees up to $[AMOUNT]. Before exceeding that amount or requiring a deposit, please provide the detailed itemization required by MCL 15.234(4), showing each applicable fee component, wage and time, fringe-benefit percentage, unit cost, and statutory basis.

Please use the lowest-paid capable employee, round partial billing increments down, use the most economical duplication and delivery methods, and exclude search, examination, review, and redaction charges unless failure to charge would cause specifically identified unreasonably high costs.

[OPTIONAL PUBLIC-INTEREST REQUEST: Please waive or reduce the fee because searching for or furnishing these records primarily benefits the general public through [DETAILS].]

[OPTIONAL INDIGENCY DISCOUNT: I request the first-$20 statutory discount and attach an affidavit stating the required indigency facts and, if requested, that this request is not made with an outside party offering payment or remuneration.]

4. Five-Business-Day Response and Any Denial

Please respond within five business days after statutory receipt by granting the request, denying it in writing, granting it in part and denying it in part, or issuing the single extension notice permitted by MCL 15.235(2)(d).

If extending, please state the reasons and the date by which the public body will grant, deny, or partially grant the request. If denying any record or portion, please provide the complete signed notice required by MCL 15.235(5)-(6).

Please separate exempt material and make all nonexempt material available under MCL 15.244. If all or part of the requested information is available on the public body's website, please provide the specific webpage address as required by MCL 15.234(5).

Thank you for your assistance.

Respectfully,

[REQUESTER NAME]
[INDIVIDUAL AGENT, IF APPLICABLE]
[DATE]

POST-SUBMISSION AND ENFORCEMENT NOTES

• Keep the record: Preserve the request with subject line and transmission proof, response, extension, itemization, estimate, deposit notice, payment, production, and denial.
• Late-response labor reduction: Labor charges must be reduced 5% per late day, up to 50%, when the tardiness is willful and intentional or the written request satisfies the identification-language conditions in MCL 15.234(9)(a). The reduction must appear on the detailed itemization.
• Deposits and abandonment: If the estimated fee exceeds $50, the public body generally may require a good-faith deposit up to 50% with an itemization and nonbinding good-faith time estimate. A required deposit not received within 45 days after receipt of the notice, absent a fee appeal, causes abandonment. Special rules permit a larger deposit after an unpaid prior request. MCL 15.234(8), (11)-(14).
• Disclosure appeal: After a final denial, the requester may either submit a written appeal to the head of the public body that specifically says “appeal” and gives reversal reasons, or file directly in court. The statute does not state a 180-day deadline for the optional administrative appeal; the 180-day limit applies to the civil action after final denial. MCL 15.240(1).
• Administrative response: The head ordinarily has ten business days to reverse, uphold, or partially reverse the denial and may issue one unusual-circumstances extension of up to ten business days. A board or commission receives the appeal at its first regularly scheduled meeting after submission. MCL 15.240(2)-(3).
• Court and venue: A disclosure action concerning a local body is filed in the Circuit Court for a county where the record or an office of the body is located; an action concerning a state public body is filed in the Court of Claims. Review is de novo, and the public body bears the burden. MCL 15.240(1), (4).
• Disclosure fees and damages: A requester who prevails receives reasonable attorney fees, costs, and disbursements; a partial prevailing party may receive a discretionary portion. An arbitrary and capricious refusal or delay triggers a $1,000 civil fine and $1,000 punitive damages in addition to actual or compensatory damages. MCL 15.240(6)-(7).
• Fee challenge: An administrative fee appeal is available only if the public body's published procedures provide it. A court fee action generally must be filed within 45 days after the fee notice or administrative determination and may require prior use of an available administrative appeal. MCL 15.240a(1).
• Get legal advice promptly: Exemptions, fee calculations, deposits, appeal sequencing, deadlines, venue, and damages are fact-sensitive.

CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.232, definitions
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.233, requests and access
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.234, fees and deposits
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.235, response and denial
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.240, disclosure appeals and actions
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.240a, fee appeals and actions
• Michigan Legislature — MCL 15.244, separation