Response Times

It is the policy of the Veterans Affairs Central Office FOIA/Privacy Act Officer to acknowledge your request within 20 working days of receipt. This acknowledgment will advise you of the date of receipt and the responding office. The custodian of the records is required within 20 working days to advise the requester as to whether or not Veterans Affairs has any information responsive to their request. If feasible, the information is released at that time.

Veterans Affairs works on a first-in, first-out basis, so there may be other requests ahead of yours. If the custodian of the records has a backlog, it will take longer to respond to your request. That office will advise you as to how long it will take to respond to your request.

Remember the 20 working days response time begins when it is received by the custodian of the record.

Related Information
Where should I send my request? Types of records that can be obtained through FOIA requests? How does VA make the determination of whether or not a record can be released?	Fees Can I fax or e-mail my request? Response Times Multi-Track Processing of FOIA Appeals How To Submit A FOIA Request