Terms of Service & Privacy

Last updated: September 6, 2026. This is a starting template and should be reviewed by an attorney before launch.

1. Who we are

MyFOIA ("we", "us") is an independent records-retrieval service. We are not a government agency, a law firm, or a consumer reporting agency. We do not provide legal advice. Anyone may request public records directly from an agency at no charge; our fee covers the service of preparing, filing, and following up on the request on your behalf.

2. What you're paying for

The service fee pays for our time and effort to identify the correct custodian agency, draft and submit the request, track deadlines, and deliver whatever the agency releases. It does not guarantee that a record exists or that an agency will release it. If we determine that the record does not exist or cannot legally be released to you, we will refund the service fee. Rush fees are non-refundable once filing has begun.

3. Agency fees

Agencies may charge copy, search, or production fees. We will tell you the amount and obtain your approval before paying any agency fee. Approved agency fees are billed to you at cost and are non-refundable.

4. Your responsibilities

You agree that the information you provide is accurate and that you are legally entitled to request the records. Some records (for example, EMS patient care reports, juvenile records, or accident reports in certain states) are restricted to involved parties, their representatives, or insurers. You may be asked to provide identification or a signed authorization. You agree not to use records obtained through us for stalking, harassment, discrimination, or any unlawful purpose.

5. Timing

Turnaround depends on the agency and the applicable law. Estimates we provide are good-faith estimates, not guarantees.

6. Privacy

We collect the information you enter on the order form, your payment details (processed by Stripe; we never see your full card number), and email correspondence about your order. We use it only to fulfill your request, communicate with you, and comply with the law. We share it with the custodian agency as needed to locate the record, and with service providers (hosting, payment, email) that process it on our behalf. We do not sell your information. You may request deletion of your data by emailing us; we may retain records needed for accounting or legal purposes.

7. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim relating to an order is limited to the service fee you paid for that order.

8. Contact

Questions about these terms: hello@myfoia.com.