How to File a FOIA Request for NASA Records

A FOIA request for NASA Agency records must include the requester’s name, an 

email and mailing address, a description of the record(s) being sought, the fee 

category into which the requester wishes to be placed, and the total amount of fees 

the requester is willing to pay or justification for a fee waiver (see Fees/Fee Waiver 

Guidance). It is also helpful to provide a telephone number in case the FOIA office 

has any questions regarding the request. NASA encourages requesters to submit their 

requests online via the NASA FOIA Public Access Link (PAL). However, if you wish to 

submit your request via mail or email, please be sure to include the above required 

information. Please do not include social security numbers on any correspondence 

with the FOIA office.

NASA records are decentralized and maintained at various Centers throughout the 

country. A member of the public may request a NASA record by mail, facsimile (FAX), 

electronic mail (e-mail), or by submitting a written request in person to one of the 

thirteen NASA FOIA Requester Service Centers. Contact information for those 

Requester Service Centers are available on the NASA FOIA website at the previous 

link. It is preferable, however, that requesters submit their requests online using PAL. 

To do so, you will need to create an account which allows you to check on the status 

of your request and correspond with the FOIA office through PAL. Submitting a 

request this way also walks requesters through populating the information required for 

inclusion in a FOIA request, and allows requesters to select the appropriate NASA 

Center to which the request will be sent. If a requester knows which Center maintains 

the requested records, it is best to send the request directly to that Center; however, 

when a requester is unable to determine the proper Center, the requester may send 

the request to the NASA Headquarters (HQ) FOIA Office. The HQ FOIA Office will 

forward the request to the Center(s) determined to be most likely to maintain the 

requested records. It is in the requester’s best interest to send the request to the 

appropriate FOIA Office as a misdirected request may take up to 10 additional 

working days to be re-routed to the proper office.

How to file a Privacy Act request

A requester who is making a request for records about him or herself (a Privacy Act 

request) must comply with the verification of identity provisions set forth in 14 CFR § 

1212.202. If a request pertains to a third party, a requester may receive greater 

access by submitting one of the following: (1) a notarized authorization signed by the 

individual who is the subject of the request; (2) a declaration by the individual made in 

compliance with the requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1746, authorizing disclosure 

of the records to the requester; or (3) proof that the individual is deceased (e.g., a 

copy of a death certificate, a verifiable obituary, etc.). 

As an exercise of its administrative discretion, each Center FOIA Office may require a 

requester to supply additional information if necessary in order to verify that a 

particular individual has consented to a third party disclosure. Information will only be 
released on a case-by-case basis to third party requesters if they have independently 

provided authorization from the individual who is the subject of the request.

Describing Records Sought

In view of the time limits under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6) for an initial determination on a 

request for an Agency record, a request must be addressed to the appropriate FOIA 

office and be clearly identified in the letter as a request for an Agency record under the 

“Freedom of Information Act.'' It is also important to conduct some research on 

NASA’s website or the world wide web before submitting a request in order to

provide as much information about the records as possible.

NASA FOIA offices often receive FOIA requests seeking records clearly belonging to 

other agencies. Thus, it may be helpful to know that NASA’s mission is to pioneer the 

future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. NASA 

conducts its work in five principal organizations, called “mission directorates,” 

discussed below: 

1. The Science Mission Directorate (SMD) expands the frontiers of Earth science, 

heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics. Using robotic observatories, 

explorer craft, ground-based instruments, and a peer-reviewed portfolio of 

sponsored research, SMD seeks knowledge about our solar system, the farthest 

reaches of space and time, and our changing Earth. You can learn more about SMD 

and its programs at https://science.nasa.gov/about-us.

2. The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) transforms aviation with 

research to reduce the environmental impact of flight, and improves aircraft and 

operations efficiency while maintaining safety in increasingly crowded skies. ARMD 

also generates innovative aviation concepts, tools, and technologies for 

development and maturation by the aviation community. You can learn more about 

ARMD and its programs at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/about-armd.

3. The Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) pursues transformational 

technologies that have a high potential for offsetting future mission risk, reducing 

cost, and advancing existing capabilities. STMD uses merit-based competition to 

conduct research and technology development, demonstration, and infusion of these 

technologies into NASA’s missions and American industry. This mission directorate 

is being refocused as a new Exploration Research & Technology (ER&T) 

organization to support exploration as a primary customer. You can learn more 

about STMD and its programs at 

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/about_us/index.html.

4. The Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) leads 

human exploration in and beyond low Earth orbit by developing new transportation 

systems and performing scientific research to enable sustained and affordable 

human life outside of Earth. HEOMD also manages space communication and 

navigation services for the Agency and its international partners. You can learn more 
about HEOMD and its programs at

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/about.html.

5. The Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD) is responsible for enabling 

sustained human exploration missions and operations in our solar system. SOMD 

manages NASA’s current and future space operations in and beyond low-Earth orbit 

(LEO), including commercial launch services to the International Space Station. 

SOMD operates and maintains exploration systems, develops and operates space 

transportation systems, and performs broad scientific research on orbit. In addition, 

SOMD is responsible for managing the space transportation services for NASA and 

NASA-sponsored payloads that require orbital launch, and the agency's space 

communications and navigation services supporting all NASA’s space systems 

currently in orbit. You can learn more about SOMD and their programs at 

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/space-operations-mission-directorate.

In addition to the above five mission directorates, NASA also has a Mission Support 

Directorate (MSD) that provides effective and efficient institutional support to enable 

the successful accomplishment of NASA mission objectives. This unit oversees the 

critical mission support resources and services across NASA field centers. You can 

learn more about MSD and its programs at https://www.nasa.gov/msd/aboutus.

It is important to review NASA’s organizational structure to help identify, to the extent 

possible, a particular program office within one of NASA’s Mission Directorates, Field 

Offices, and/or Administrator Staff Offices that may maintain the records sought. This 

can be found at https://www.nasa.gov/about/org_index.html. Additionally, to help identify 

a particular NASA mission that may be encompassed by the subject of a request, a list 

of “NASA’s Missions A-Z” is available at https://nasa/gov/missions.

By conducting this research, requesters can provide better descriptions of the records 

sought to better enable agency personnel who are familiar with the subject area to 

identify and locate records with a reasonable amount of effort. The details that may 

assist a FOIA office in identifying the requested records include the particular NASA 

Centers, program offices, and/or names of officials believed to maintain the records, 

contract number(s) if the work was completed by a contractor, date ranges or time 

frames, etc. 

If the requester fails to reasonably describe the records sought, the FOIA office will 

inform the requester of what additional information is needed or why the request is 

deficient. The FOIA office will also notify the requester that it will not be able to comply 

with the FOIA request unless additional information is provided within 20 working days 

from the date of the letter. If the additional information is not provided within that time

frame, the request will be closed administratively without further notification.

NASA need not comply with a blanket or categorical request (such as “all matters 

relating to” a general subject) where it is not reasonably feasible to determine what 

record is sought. NASA will in good faith attempt to identify and locate the record(s) 

sought and will consult with the requester when necessary and appropriate for that 

purpose in accordance with our regulations. NASA is not required to create or 

compile records in response to a FOIA request.
Request for Contracts

NASA receives a great number of FOIA requests for contracts. A request for contracts 

should include the specific NASA contract numbers of interest and a detailed 

explanation of the documents requested. You may find contract numbers via the 

System for Award Management (SAM), SAM.gov. SAM.gov allows anyone to register 

and access records pertaining to all federal agency procurement actions. This includes

the ability to run a variety of reports based on specified criteria.

Requesters seeking contracts awarded by NASA are generally categorized as 

“commercial use requesters” for fee assessment purposes. Commercial use is defined 

as any use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the 

requester. In accordance with NASA’s FOIA Regulation 14 CFR § 1206.507, 

commercial use requesters pay all fees associated with processing their requests, 

which include search, review, and duplication fees. A request that does not identify the 

amount a requester is willing to pay for the associated fees will be placed on hold until 

the requester agrees to pay fees. If a requester only states his/her willingness to pay a 

limited amount for processing the request, and it is for more than one document, then 

the requester must state the order in which he/she would like the request for records to 

be processed. Additionally, the requester may limit the scope of the request to reduce 

processing fees.

What NASA Generally Releases:

• Amounts actually paid by the Government under a contract, such as total 

contract award amounts and total modification amounts.

• Total option year pricing.

• Explanatory material and headings associated with costs and pricing.

• Names of federal employees and key contractor employees.

• Contractual provisions and clauses authored by NASA.

What NASA Generally Withholds:

• Technical and cost proposals submitted in response to a solicitation 

(automatically withheld under an Exemption (b)(3) statute);

• Unique ideas, methods, or processes (trade secrets);

• Equipment, materials, processes, or systems that are patented, copyrighted, or 

contains restricted information; or

• Cost and pricing data that is not already generally known as a part of regular 

business practices, such as burdened labor rates or G&A rates. 

• Plans or submissions submitted by the contractor which are incorporated into the 

finalized contract.
FOIA Appeals

If you deem the response you receive to your FOIA to be an adverse determination, you 

may exercise your appeal rights.

14 C.F.R. §1206.700 – How to submit an appeal.

(a) A member of the public who has requested an Agency record in accordance with 

subpart C of this part, and who has received an initial determination which does not 

comply fully with the request, may appeal such an adverse initial determination to 

the Administrator, or, for records as specified in §1206.805, to the Inspector General 

within 90 days from the date of the initial determination letter.

(b) The appeal must:

(1) Be in writing;

(2) Be addressed to the Administrator, NASA Headquarters, Executive 

Secretariat, Washington, DC 20546, or, for records as specified in §1206.805, 

to the Inspector General, NASA Headquarters, Room 8U71, 300 E Street, 

SW, Washington, DC 20546;

(3) Be identified clearly on the envelope and in the letter as an “Appeal under the 

Freedom of Information Act;”

(4) Include a copy of the initial request for the Agency record and a copy of 

the adverse initial determination along with any other correspondence 

with the FOIA office;

(5) To the extent possible, state the reasons the adverse initial determination 

should be reversed; and

(6) Be sent to the Administrator or the Inspector General, as appropriate, within

90 days of the date of the initial determination.

(c) An official authorized to make a final determination may waive any of the 

requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, in which case the time limit for the final 

determination (see §1206.701(a)) shall run from the date of such waiver.

NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG)

FOIA requests for OIG documents are handled independently by the NASA OIG. For 

more information about where to sent your request see instructions available at the OIG 

website at https://oig.nasa.gov/FOIA_requests.html.