The ICO exists to empower you through information.

Freedom of information guidance and resources

Find out about your obligations under the Freedom of Information Act and how to respond to requests.

We've recently restructured our FOI guidance and resources. Please let us know what you think.

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Supporting public authorities to be open and transparent

Transparency is fundamental to our democracy. It underpins trust and confidence in public services.

One year into our new upstream approach, we reflect on what we have achieved so far, highlight products that you may have missed, and set out what else we will do.

Read our latest blog about the ICO’s FOI work.

How to respond to an FOI request

Managing an FOI request

What is a valid request, cost, timescales, refusing requests, exemptions and internal reviews.

Guidance index

Alphabetical list of all our detailed guidance about FOI.

Response templates

Use our templates to help create your response to a request.

FOI information and resources