FOIA Friend

Jurisdiction-first help for public records requests.

How Review Status Is Assigned

FOIA Friend uses a multi-tier verification system to indicate how much human review each agency record has received.

Evidence Status Badges

Each agency profile displays a badge indicating its verification level:

Verified Partially Verified Pending review Not yet reviewed

Status Definitions

Verified ✓
Contact details confirmed by human review. Both evidence_status == "verified" AND a populated source_url must be present. You can trust the portal URL, email, and address shown.
Partially Verified ⏳
Marked as "verified" in our database but the source URL is missing. The data came from a trusted import but hasn't been fully documented yet. Confirm details before sending.
Pending review ⏳
Newly imported from MuckRock or another third-party source. Awaiting human verification of contact details and submission channels.
Not yet reviewed 📝
Imported from third-party source (typically MuckRock). Contact details haven't been hand-checked. Always confirm the address and portal before sending your request.

Verification Pipeline

Agency records move through a structured review pipeline:

Seeded
Initial data load
→
Partially Verified
Some fields checked
→
Verified
Full human review

What Gets Checked

  • Portal URL — Does the submission portal link work? Is it the official government site?
  • Email address — Is the intake email correct and monitored?
  • Mailing address — Is the FOIA office address current?
  • Source documentation — Is there a URL proving where the data came from?
  • Fee policies — Are transparency notes accurate about costs?

Friction Ratings

Agencies also receive a friction rating based on their transparency and responsiveness:

Generally Responsive Medium Friction High Resistance

Friction is computed from:

  • Fee notes analysis — Keyword scanning for phrases like "reasonable search", "duplication fees", "commercial purpose"
  • MuckRock metrics — Success rates, average response times, fee rates (when available)
  • Historical patterns — Agency-specific resistance patterns documented in our research

Why This Matters

Public records requests work best when you:

  • Trust Verified records for one-click submission
  • Double-check Partially Verified or Pending records before sending
  • Always confirm contact details for Not yet reviewed agencies
  • Use the friction rating to set expectations about response time and resistance

Data Sources

Our verification pipeline draws from:

  • MuckRock — Crowdsourced agency data from thousands of successful requests
  • Government websites — Official .gov portals and FOIA officer contacts
  • Statute research — Primary-source legal citations for all 50 states + territories + federal
  • DOJ OIP guidance — Department of Justice Office of Information Policy materials