Home / FOI deadlines First decision 1 Jurisdiction United States 1 Time limit 20 days, excluding weekends and legal public holidays 1 Law or source 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A) 1 Window to appeal 1 Jurisdiction United States 1 Time limit At least 90 days after the decision 1 Law or source 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A) 1 Appeal decision 1 Jurisdiction United States 1 Time limit 20 days, excluding weekends and legal public holidays 1 Law or source 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A) 1 First decision 2 Jurisdiction United Kingdom 2 Time limit Promptly and by the twentieth working day after receipt 2 Law or source FOIA 2000, section 10 2 First decision 3 Time limit Promptly and by the twentieth working day after receipt 3 Law or source FOISA 2002, section 10 3 Records held by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland 4 Time limit Up to 30 working days 4 Law or source Scottish Information Commissioner 4 Request for review 5 Time limit Within 40 working days of the response 5 Law or source Scottish Information Commissioner 5 Review decision 5 Time limit Within 20 working days 5 Law or source Scottish Information Commissioner 5 Appeal to the Commissioner 6 Time limit Within 6 months of the review response 6 Law or source Scottish Information Commissioner 6 Acknowledgement of request 7 Time limit Within 2 weeks of receipt 7 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 12(2) 7 Transfer to the body holding the record 7 Time limit Within 2 weeks of receipt 7 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 12(3) 7 First decision 8 Time limit Within 4 weeks of receipt 8 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 13(1) 8 Extension 9 Time limit Up to 4 weeks 9 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 14 9 Application for internal review 10 Time limit Within 4 weeks of the decision 10 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 21(7) 10 Internal review decision 10 Time limit Within 3 weeks of the application 10 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 21(4) 10 Application to the Information Commissioner 11 Time limit Within 6 months of the decision, 2 weeks for time extension decisions and section 38 third-party decisions 11 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 22(4) 11 Information Commissioner decision 11 Time limit Insofar as practicable within 4 months 11 Law or source FOI Act 2014, section 22(3) 11 First decision 12 Time limit Written notice within 30 days of receipt 12 Law or source Access to Information Act, section 7 12 Complaint to the Information Commissioner 12 Time limit Within sixty days of the refusal notice, access, or awareness of the grounds 12 Law or source Access to Information Act, section 31 12 Application to the Federal Court 12 Time limit Within 30 business days after the institution receives the Commissioner's report 12 Law or source Access to Information Act, section 41 12 First decision 13 Time limit Within 30 days of receipt 13 Law or source RTI Act 2005, section 7(1) 13 Life or liberty 13 Time limit Within 48 hours 13 Law or source RTI Act 2005, section 7(1) 13 Transfer to the authority holding the information 13 Time limit No later than 5 days from receipt 13 Law or source RTI Act 2005, section 6(3) 13 First appeal 13 Time limit Within 30 days 13 Law or source RTI Act 2005, section 19(1) 13 Second appeal to the Information Commission 13 Time limit Within 90 days 13 Law or source RTI Act 2005, section 19(3) 13 First decision 14 Jurisdiction South Africa 14 Time limit Within 30 days of receipt 14 Law or source PAIA, section 25 14 Extension 14 Jurisdiction South Africa 14 Time limit Once, for not more than 30 days 14 Law or source PAIA, section 26 14 Internal appeal 14 Jurisdiction South Africa 14 Time limit Within 60 days 14 Law or source PAIA, internal appeal provisions 14 Internal appeal decision 14 Jurisdiction South Africa 14 Time limit Within 30 days of receipt of the appeal 14 Law or source PAIA, internal appeal provisions 14 Complaint to the Information Regulator 14 Jurisdiction South Africa 14 Time limit Within 180 days of the decision 14 Law or source PAIA, complaints provisions 14 First decision 15 Time limit Within 21 days 15 Law or source Access to Information Act 2016, section 9 15 Life or liberty 15 Time limit Within 48 hours, extendable once to no more than 14 days 15 Law or source Access to Information Act 2016, section 9 15 Review by the Commission on Administrative Justice 15 Time limit Within 30 days of the decision 15 Law or source Commission handbook 15 Appeal to the High Court 15 Time limit Within 21 days of the Commission's decision 15 Law or source Commission handbook 15 First decision 16 Jurisdiction European Union 16 Time limit 15 working days from registration 16 Law or source Regulation 1049/2001, Article 7 16 Confirmatory application 16 Jurisdiction European Union 16 Time limit Within 15 working days of the reply 16 Law or source Regulation 1049/2001, Article 7 16 Acknowledgement of request 17 Time limit Within 14 days 17 Law or source FOI Act 1982, section 15(5)(a) 17 First decision 17 Time limit No later than 30 days after receipt 17 Law or source FOI Act 1982, section 15(5)(b) 17 Extension by agreement 17 Time limit Up to 30 days with the applicant's agreement 17 Law or source FOI Act 1982, section 15AA 17 Nothing matches. 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Notes Several rows for Kenya come from the Commission on Administrative Justice handbook, which cites the sections of the Act 15 Scottish review and appeal limits are taken from the Scottish Information Commissioner's guidance pages 5 ,6 Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@publicrecordgaps.com .
Sources Legal Information Institute: 5 U.S. Code § 552 - Public information legislation.gov.uk: Freedom of Information Act 2000, section 10 legislation.gov.uk: Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, section 10 Scottish Information Commissioner: How long will I have to wait? Scottish Information Commissioner: Asking the authority for a review Scottish Information Commissioner: Appeal to the Commissioner Irish Statute Book: Freedom of Information Act 2014, Section 12 Irish Statute Book: Freedom of Information Act 2014, Section 13 Irish Statute Book: Freedom of Information Act 2014, Section 14 Irish Statute Book: Freedom of Information Act 2014, Section 21 Irish Statute Book: Freedom of Information Act 2014, Section 22 Justice Laws Website, Government of Canada: Access to Information Act (full text) Ministry of Heavy Industries, India: The Right to Information Act, 2005 Department of Justice and Constitutional Development: Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (consolidated text) Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman): Handbook on Best Practices on Implementation of Access to Information in Kenya EUR-Lex: Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents Office of the Australian Information Commissioner: FOI Guidelines, Part 3: Processing and deciding on requests for access 