Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law that gives the public the right to access government records including Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service (NPS), or Department of the Interior (DOI) records unless DOI reasonably foresees that the release of the information in those records would harm an interest protected by one or more of the nine exemptions or release is prohibited by law.

The information you are seeking may reside with the National Park Service, the Presidio Trust, or United States Park Police:

National Park Service:

If you are seeking general information about Golden Gate National Recreation Area, please visit our website. Park specific information is also available at our park visitor centers, at park archives, Planning, Environment & Public Comment website, or on our FOIA Reading Room which includes responses to previous FOIA requests. If you need more help locating the information you seek, contact the park. If you need to get a copy of your police report, please visit our How to Request a Police Report webpage.

The Presidio Trust:

If you are seeking information or records related to The Presidio Trust, please visit their website for general information or their FOIA webpage if you want to file a FOIA.

United States Park Police:

If you are seeking information or records related to the United States Park Police, please visit their website for general information or their FOIA webpage if you want to file a FOIA or get a copy of your police report.

Incident Reports (Police Reports):

See our webpage "How to Request a Police Report" to see how to request a copy of your report from the United States Park Police or Visitor and Resource Protection Law Enforcement Rangers.

National Park Service Searchs:

Visit the DataStore application. The digital repository for the National Park Service that provides tools for discovering documents and datasets relevant to park resources. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/

Government Searchs:

The information you are seeking may already be available on-line. Before making a FOIA request, you may wish to conduct a search of agencies’ websites to see what is already publicly available.

• Use this link to search across all government websites at once.
• Another great place to search is GovInfo which has collections from Congressional Records, Congressional Hearings, Presidential papers, the Federal Register and United States Court opinions.
• USA.gov is a another source for information about U.S. Government agencies and services.
• A-Z index of U.S. government departments and agencies | USAGov provides links to find contact information for U.S. federal government departments and agencies including websites, emails, phone numbers, addresses, and more.

Maps and Geographical Information:

If you are seeking geographical information or want to verify if a particular tract belongs to the National Park Service, go on-line to TractsNet and search by park name or visit California Protected Area Database to view multiple jurisdictions including national park lands.

Subpoenas & Touhy Process:

If you are requesting records as part of a lawsuit to which the Federal government will not be a party, then your request would be more appropriately handled through the Touhy process. Please follow the procedures set forth at 43 CFR Part 2, Subpart L (Legal Process: Testimony by Employees and Production of Records). For subpoenas related to criminal proceedings please contact our Law Enforcement Specialist e-mail us.

FOIA:

If you still cannot obtain the information you are seeking, you may need to submit a formal written FOIA request. Per December 2019 Department of Interior policy, we cannot accept FOIA requests via email.

The best way to submit FOIA requests is to file them electronically via FOIAXpress.com.

Before filing a FOIA, please review what you should include in you request. Visit electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) website to learn about FOIA:

eCFR :: 43 CFR Part 2 -- Freedom of Information Act; Records and Testimony.

If you have questions on what information is available without submitting a FOIA request or where it may be located, contact one of the NPS FOIA Officers and Contacts or DOI FOIA Contacts. Our responsibility is to provide you with copies of the documents you are entitled to receive under the law. We want to work with you to achieve that goal.

National Park Service FOIA page

Department of the Interior FOIA page

What are the 9 FOIA exemptions and what information do they cover?

Exemption 1 Classified national defense and foreign relations information.
Exemption 2 Internal agency personnel rules and practices.
Exemption 3 Provides for the withholding of records when disclosure is prohibited by another federal law.
Exemption 4 Trade secrets and other confidential business information.
Exemption 5 Certain inter-agency, or intra-agency communications.
Exemption 6 Personnel, medical, and other records and information involving personal privacy.
Exemption 7 Records and information compiled for law enforcement purposes.
Exemption 8 Records relating to financial institutions.
Exemption 9 Geological records and information on oil wells.

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Disclaimer: To the extent that anything included on this home page may be or could be construed as inconsistent with the law or DOI's regulations, the law and regulations will control DOI's responsibilities under the FOIA.