The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, is a federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government upon request.

The purpose of the Privacy Act is to balance the government’s need to maintain information about individuals with the rights of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasions of their privacy stemming from federal agencies’ collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information.

There are three basic elements to a request for records under the Privacy Act:

• The request should state that it is being made under the Privacy Act.
• The request should include your name, home and email addresses, and signature.
• The request should describe the records in as much detail as possible.

Most government agencies have procedures on how to request their information.  Some even have website portals where you can request this information directly.

Some people will tell you that you will not get any answers or that you will only get the standard response:  ex.,

“Under FOIA, the Department can neither confirm nor deny the existence of any records that could reveal your status because either a confirmation or denial that such records exist is protected from release by FOIA Exemption and or exempt from release under the Privacy Act.”

If you ever seek judicial relief; the judge will want to know that you tried to get answers from the agencies.  Even if you get the above response; do not get discouraged.  Executive Order 13526 Classified National Security Information in pertinent parts states: 

Sec. 1.7. Classification Prohibitions and Limitations. (a) In no case shall
information be classified, continue to be maintained as classified, or fail
to be declassified in order to:

(1) conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error;
(2) prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency;
(3) restrain competition; or
(4) prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security.

Further, when the Federal Agencies are alleged to withhold information; it is the Judge who gets to see that information and the judge will decide and rule, if the said information is unlawfully withheld.