Public Records requests, often called FOIA requests, are one of the best ways to hold our government accountable. Under Louisiana law you have the right to request and review public records. You just have to ask…. carefully. In many cases, the government will try scope your request as narrowly as possible. After hundreds of FOIA requests, below is my current LA public records request template. Please use it:
Please provide any and all communications including but not limited to all documents, spreadsheets, emails, cloud drives/shares, calendar invites, text messages, chat messages (such as Slack, Signal, iMessage, WhatsApp, and MS Teams), notes, orders, logs, and any other material and media that have been created, edited, sent, received, viewed, updated, or emailed between 2024-NOV-21 and 2025-NOV-21 involving any of the following individuals or accounts:
- XXXX
And matching any of the the following search terms:
- XXXX
- XXXX
I request copies of this content in digital format, ie: PDF, MSG, text files, or similar.
Under the Public Records Act of Louisiana (R.S. 44:1 et seq) no fees may be legally charged for the labor of determining whether the records are public, or for the labor of segregating them from non-public records. The custodian may, at their discretion, charge fees for physical materials. Because this request compromises a non-commercial project, I respectfully request that you waive any such fees. If you are unable to do so, please send me a fee estimate before executing this request.
I look forward to your response within three days as required by the Public Records Act. You may contact me with any questions or clarifications at XXXX@gmail.com or 504-XXX-XXXX.
For more excellent information please also see this fanatic presentation from The Lens:
