The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public access to Federal records except for those protected from disclosure by one of nine exceptions in the law or by one of three special record exclusions. Exemption 6 of the FOIA allows the government to withhold information from personnel and medical files that would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. According to the Department of Defense (DOD), information not considered an unwarranted invasion of privacy and releasable by NPRC is shown on the below list, INFORMATION THAT CAN BE RELEASED UNDER FOIA. A FOIA request may not always cite "FOIA"; the inquiries may also be identified by references to Public Law 93-502, or 5 U.S.C. 552 (or a CFR citation, such as 32 CFR 806).
Note: If the request is from a reporter or media outlet, see also the Media Cases or Special Inquiries of this guide.
If a request is asking for SPECIFIC information that is releasable under FOIA, provide only what is requested. Do not routinely provide all data that is covered under FOIA.
If a routine request cites FOIA and asks only for specific documents or information that are NOT releasable under FOIA, the request may be returned if it lacks the release authorization of the veteran or NOK. This is NOT considered a denial. See 1865.16, par. 9.
For inquiries in which the information requested is partially releasable, process the request as shown below:
ARMY RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester and forward the request and the record to the office shown below. Be sure to inform requester of referral.
AR-PERSCOM (ZCC-A)
1 Reserve Way
St. Louis, MO 63132-5200
AIR FORCE RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester and forward the request and the record to the office shown below. Be sure to inform requester of referral.
HQ, AFPC/ MSID(FOIA)
550 C Street West, Suite 48
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4750
NAVY MEDICAL RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester forward the request and the record to the Navy Medical Liaison at 9700 Page Avenue. Be sure to notify the requester of the referral.
NAVY PERSONNEL RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester and refer the request and the record to the Navy Personnel Command, 5720 Integrity Drive, Millington, TN 38055-3130. Be sure to notify the requester of the referral.
MARINE CORPS RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester and forward the request and the record to the Marine Corps Liaison Office at 9700 Page Avenue. Be sure to notify the requester of the referral.
COAST GUARD RECORDS:
Provide the releasable information to the requester and forward the request and the record to the office shown below. Be sure to notify the requester of the referral.
Commander, Military Personnel Command
G-CIM-2
2100 Second Street, SW
Washington, DC 20593-0001
Transcribing data from the record is the safest way to answer a FOIA request. Transcription makes you more conscious of what you’re sending and decreases the chance of sending information you should not send. Also, most releasable items can easily be recorded on the FOIA release form.
Please be very careful when responding to third-party FOIA requests when you note that a previous FOIA response was made and is filed in the record. The previous response could have been made when NPRC was using a different listing of releasable information. This different listing included items such as date of birth, marital status, dependents' names and dates of birth, and home address, if deceased. We no longer release that information. If, in order to save time, you use a copy of this previous listing as part of your current response, you will be violating the Privacy Act and DoD regulations. Check that FOIA form in the record! Use the current Form 13164 to make your response.
Sending documents is often the fastest way to answer a FOIA request. Remember, however, the documents are simply the manner in which you’re choosing to provide releasable information. Be careful. It is easy to send a document that provides releasable information and more. You might overlook the unreleasable information or forget to delete it. Be selective when choosing documents. For example: avoid sending NAVPERS 601, page 9 from a WWII record and NAVPERS 601, page 13 from a PWW record. These are administrative pages on which all sorts of unreleasable information may appear. Conversely, NAVPERS 601, page 5 from a PMM record would be a good choice because it’s limited to the history of assignments. Information found on AF documents Forms 7 & 11, and WD66, and Army documents DA Form 20 and DA Form 2-1 may also be copied, but you need to screen them carefully and make necessary deletions. If you are using several documents to provide information (DA Form 20 AND DA Form 2-1), it is permissible to "cut and paste" to a single sheet (or more, if needed) of information.
Most releasable items can easily be recorded on the FOIA release form. But other items--assignments and their geographical location, decorations--can be time consuming to transcribe especially if the veteran had many years of service. Try the compromise of transcribing as much information as possible and providing as few documents as possible.
NAME: Last, first, and complete middle name (or initial if not shown)
SERIAL/SERVICE NUMBERS: ALL service numbers, to include any prefix, such as AR, AF, US, BR, B, etc. PLEASE NOTE: Social Security Numbers are NOT serial or service numbers. SSNs are identifiers only. If an individual served in the U.S. Armed Forces under an SSN, and was never issued a serial/service number, the correct entry is "none."
DATES OF SERVICE: May be shown continuously, such as active/inactive without distinction; but in some cases, it is more helpful to also show actual dates of active duty. For example: January 1, 1966 to December 31, 1972. Active Duty: June 1, 1966 to May 31, 1968.
RANK: Last rank/grade achieved.
SALARY: N/A (this information is rarely shown in records). You may choose to refer the requester to the appropriate Defense Finance and Accounting Center.
ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: Provide in the most convenient format. Be sure to delete non-releasable information if copies are used.
SOURCE OF COMMISSION: This is usually N/A (refer to Letter of Appointment)
MILITARY EDUCATIONAL LEVEL: All military schooling, but not final grade/course standing.
PROMOTION SEQUENCE NUMBERS: N/A (This information is rarely shown in military records. It is found in promotion packets, but these packets are not usually maintained in the service record as a permanent document. In the majority of cases, the response should be N/A).
DECORATIONS AND AWARDS: The acronyms or abbreviations for the decorations/awards must be spelled out. Provide copies of citations, if available.
DUTY STATUS: For example, discharged, retired, died on active duty)
PHOTOGRAPH: Usually not available. If a copy is in file, send a machine copy. If more than one photograph is available in the record, send one of them.
RECORDS OF COURTS-MARTIAL TRIALS: This means records of the proceedings, not orders or entries relating to the court-martial. Your response should be "not in file," because proceedings are not filed in the record. Do NOT use "N/A."*
PLACE OF INDUCTION AND SEPARATION: City and state - installation and state
IF VETERAN IS DECEASED: PLACE OF BIRTH: City and state
DATE AND GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION OF DEATH:
Month/day/year, city and state (country if not the USA)
PLACE OF BURIAL: name of cemetery, city, state, and country, if not USA)
* N/A denotes information not available in records
Source: NPRC 1864.113