FOIA REQUESTS For local governments
FOIA request tracking with Michigan deadlines.
FOIA Requests lets residents file public records requests through an online form and gives your staff one place to track each request against Michigan FOIA response deadlines, with fees itemized. A request filed on a busy Friday doesn't slip past its five-business-day answer date because it sat in someone's inbox.
- Every tool included
- WCAG 2.1 AA
- Works with BS&A
Where do FOIA requests go wrong?
Most requests arrive by email, mail, fax and at the counter, and get tracked in a spreadsheet or a desk calendar. Michigan's deadlines count business days from receipt, and a missed date costs money.
What residents run into
- Residents don't know how to file a request or what it will cost, so they call first.
- A request emailed to the wrong address can sit unnoticed for days.
- Fees arrive as a single number with no explanation of what it covers.
What your staff deal with
- Your staff count business days by hand and track extensions on paper.
- Requests that land in spam or a former employee's inbox still start the clock.
- Building the required fee itemization for each request takes time you don't have.
How does tracking a FOIA request work?
One request, one record, from the form to the final response.
A resident files the request online
The form asks for what your procedures need, so the request arrives complete and in one queue instead of scattered across inboxes.
The deadline is set
Each request is tracked against Michigan's response deadline, so your staff see what's due this week at a glance.
Extend it if you need to
If your staff take the one allowed extension, the new due date replaces the old one, so whoever picks up the request knows where it stands.
Fees are itemized
When a request carries a fee, it's broken out line by line, matching the way Michigan FOIA asks you to explain charges.
What does FOIA Requests include?
Built for the parts of Michigan FOIA that eat the most staff time.
Online request form
Residents file a written request from your community's website at any hour. Every request lands in the same queue, which matters because Michigan counts an emailed request as received the next business day whether or not anyone saw it.
Deadline tracking for Michigan FOIA
Each request shows its response date under Michigan's five-business-day rule and any extension, so nothing quietly runs past due during an election week or a budget season.
Itemized fees
Fees are broken out by component instead of a single total, which is how Michigan FOIA asks public bodies to explain what a requester is paying for.
Built accessible
A request form everyone can use
A public records request form is a service residents use to reach you, so it falls under the ADA Title II rule like any other page. The FOIA form is built to meet WCAG 2.1 AA, with labeled fields, clear error messages and full keyboard support. Released records are a separate question, covered in our Michigan FOIA guide.
What do state public records laws require on the website?
The deadline tracking is built around Michigan FOIA. Other states set their own rules for what goes online, summarized below from our state guides. Follow a state for the full section and statute.
| State | Requirement | What the law says | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | FOIA procedures and public summary | Post and maintain both on the website; no fees or deposits until published | MCL 15.234(4) (opens in a new tab) |
| Michigan | FOIA response | Five business days, with one extension of up to 10 business days | MCL 15.235 (opens in a new tab) |
| Illinois | FOIA information | Description of the body, FOIA officer directory, how to request, and fees, prominently on the website | 5 ILCS 140/4 (P.A. 104-0438) (opens in a new tab) |
| Indiana | Public records requests | No website posting rule; mailed, faxed or portal requests get seven days before a denial occurs | IC 5-14-3-9 (opens in a new tab) |
| Ohio | Public records policy | Adopt a policy and display a poster in the office; posting the policy online is optional | R.C. 149.43(E)(2) (opens in a new tab) |
| Wisconsin | Records procedures notice | Prominently displayed at the offices; the statute doesn't require it online | Wis. Stat. § 19.34(1) (opens in a new tab) |
| Minnesota | Data practices policies | Two policies updated by August 1; the website is one way to make them easy to get | Minn. Stat. 13.025 (opens in a new tab) |
Questions about FOIA Requests.
Short answers, linked to the law where it applies. Ask us anything else on a demo.
What are the Michigan FOIA response deadlines?
A public body has five business days after it receives a written request to grant it, deny it, grant part of it or send a notice extending the deadline. One extension is allowed, for up to 10 more business days (MCL 15.235 (opens in a new tab)). Our Michigan FOIA guide walks through each step.
What does Michigan FOIA require on our website?
If you have an official internet presence, your written FOIA procedures and guidelines and the public summary both go on the website and have to stay current. Until they're posted, you can't require deposits or charge fees (MCL 15.234 (opens in a new tab)). Document Center is a good home for both.
How does Michigan FOIA fee itemization work?
Your procedures must include a standard form that breaks fees into six parts: search labor, separation labor, nonpaper media, paper copies, duplication labor and mailing (MCL 15.234 (opens in a new tab)). The tool itemizes fees line by line, and your staff still decide the amounts under your own procedures.
Can software decide what to redact or deny?
No. Deciding whether a record is exempt, what to redact and how to word a denial are legal judgments your staff and attorney make. Software helps with the parts that are clerical: taking the request, counting the days and laying out the fees. The Michigan FOIA guide covers where that line sits.
We're not in Michigan. Is this tool still useful?
The deadline tracking follows Michigan FOIA. If you're in another state, the online request form and one shared queue still help, and the Forms tool can route records requests to the right inbox. Your state guide lists your own public records rules, starting from the state guides page.
Want to see a FOIA request from form to response?
We'll file a sample request, show the due date and extension tracking, and lay out an itemized fee.