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Additional Information about the FOIA, as amended by the E-FOIA

Welcome! The purpose of this site is to provide the public with information about requesting records from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The FOIA is a federal statute that gives any person the right to request records from Federal agencies. When a Federal agency receives a FOIA request, it has a responsibility to search for records that are responsive to the request. The agency then must make copies of all responsive records available, unless the records are protected from disclosure under one of nine recognized statutory exemptions. Persons who wish to request agency records under the FOIA have a responsibility to reasonably describe the records they seek.

On October 2, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 (E-FOIA). Under the E-FOIA, it is now possible for members of the public to access a great deal of NHTSA information electronically, without the need to submit a formal FOIA request.

 

NHTSA's Electronic Reading Room

If You Can't Find the Information You Need Electronically

How to Request Information under the FOIA

Any person may request records from any Federal agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552. Under the FOIA, the request must reasonably describe the records requested and the request must be made in accordance with published rules. The rules that govern FOIA requests submitted to NHTSA can be found at 49 CFR Part 7.

Under the regulation, FOIA requests to NHTSA must:

In addition, each FOIA request should describe to the fullest extent possible the particular records that are desired, including (if known) the date of the record and the person or office that generated or has possession of it.

When the agency receives a FOIA request, it will search for responsive agency records that were in existence and in our possession at the time that the FOIA request was received. The FOIA does not require agencies to create new records or to respond to specific questions. In addition, the FOIA does not require agencies to respond to requests that are continuing in nature. In other words, for records that are created or received by the agency at a future date, individuals must submit subsequent FOIA requests.

Where to Send Your Request

FOIA requests to NHTSA should be addressed to:

NHTSA
Executive Secretariat
Room 5221
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590

Protected Information

The FOIA protects certain agency records from public disclosure, under nine exemptions contained in the FOIA statute. These exemptions cover matters that are:

If an agency record is requested and it contains information that is protected from disclosure under one or more of the nine exemptions, the agency may withhold that record. If the agency determines, however, that the protected portions can be segregated from the unprotected portions of the record, the agency will make available to the requester a redacted version of the document.

FOIA Fees

The rules that govern FOIA fees charged for requests submitted to NHTSA are contained in 49 CFR Part 7. These rules establish standard fees for the cost to search for, review and duplicate records that are requested from NHTSA under FOIA. The fees can be reduced or waived for certain categories of requesters and under certain circumstances. These rules describe these categories of requesters and the criteria for a fee reduction or waiver.

Each FOIA request shall:

When the agency estimates that the search, review and duplication charges will likely exceed $25, the requester will be notified of the estimated amount of the fees, unless the requester has indicated in advance a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated.

The agency may require advance payment if the fees for a request are likely to exceed $250 or if the requester has failed to pay within 30 days of the billing date fees charged for a previous request to any part of the Department of Transportation.

Sending a FOIA Request Electronically

You may send a FOIA request electronically via email. The message should include all the information specified above as well as a valid return email address and physical mail address. Email the request to Webmaster@nhtsa.dot.gov

 

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