FOIA Requests Must Reasonably Describe the Records Sought

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request may be deemed improper if it does not reasonably describe the records sought.  For example, if someone submits a FOIA request for “all records about me,” this would be too broad and vague to process.

A request reasonably describes the records sought if it enables the records custodian to determine precisely what records are being requested and locate them with a reasonable amount of effort.

Confirming that a request meets the FOIA’s reasonably described records requirement before processing it further saves the Postal Service™ time and money.

And that’s smart business.

For more information, please see Handbook AS-353, Guide to Privacy, the Freedom of Information Act, and Records Management, Section 4.4.9.a:
https://about.usps.com/policy/as353_pol.pdf