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Overview

The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”), Article 6 (Sections 84-90) of the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions. 

“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

Learn more about records access.

Request Records

Submit using the GovQA online request form. 

If you seek data that is owned by another agency, please submit your request directly to that agency. Under State Technology Law §106, if ITS receives a request for another agency’s data the request will be forwarded to that agency for their response.

Submit a foil request

Mail a written request to:

Records Access Officer
New York State ITS
Empire State Plaza
Post Office Box 2062
Albany, New York 12220-0062

E-mail a written request to:
[email protected]

Submit a request for records in person:

Our main offices are located in Swan Street, Core 4, Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York. Upon entering the main entrance of the building, advise Security Staff that you would like to request records. Security Staff will contact the Records Access Office, and a staff member will provide assistance.  Please be advised records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

FOIL Process

Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record, we will send you a letter either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request.  If you have not received a letter within five business days, please contact us at [email protected].

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors. 

If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for paper copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

  • an amount equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare the requested record(s), if at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record(s) requested;
  • the actual cost of the storage devices or media provided to the person making the request in complying with such request; and
  • the actual cost to the agency of engaging an outside professional service to prepare a copy of a record, but only when an agency's information technology equipment is inadequate to prepare a copy, if such service is used to prepare the copy.

Once the requested records are prepared, and upon payment of any applicable fee, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, or electronic media. Such records may also be inspected or copied every day that ITS is open for business during the hours 9:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. through 4:00 p.m. You may schedule an appointment for in-person inspection of records by contacting us at [email protected].

Right to Appeal

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination.  If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter by email to [email protected] or mail to: 

Records Appeals Officer
New York State ITS
Empire State Plaza
Post Office Box 2062
Albany, New York 12220

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten business days of our receipt of such an appeal.  Please indicate the FOIL Request Number when corresponding on this subject.

Subject Matter List

The following is a current list of records, by subject matter, that are maintained by this agency.  Some of the listed records may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law.

Records Subject Matter List

Agency FOIL Regulations

Helpful Tips

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.

Before submitting a FOIL request:

  • Please make sure you are submitting the FOIL to the correct agency. ITS may maintain the documents that you are seeking, however, only the agency that owns the document may produce those documents to a FOIL requester.
  • Please include as much information as possible to help ITS identify the documents you seek.
  • Please review the ITS page before submitting your request. Some documents may be available on the ITS website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

  • Be as specific as possible in describing the requested records. Include relevant dates, names, descriptions, contract numbers, document types, etc. See suggested language for a FOIL request from the Committee on Open Government.
  • Include your e-mail and mailing address, as well as a telephone number where you can be reached during business hours, if it is necessary to clarify your request.
  • Please note that the agency is not required to create a new record or answer questions in response to FOIL requests.

Previously Released Documents