Last date modified: 2026-Apr-20

Intake (Advanced Access)

Once a FOIA request is received, the Intake step begins. During this phase, the agency reviews the request and decides if it passes FOIA submission policies (perfection). The agency assigns a category to further define the request and provides a first response to the request submitter. If applicable, fees are also collected during this phase.

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Intake details for the coordinator

Click the Intake step in the workflow panel to open its details.

Navigation points on the request details screen.

The following are some noteworthy navigational points on the Intake screen.

A. Workflow steps—the RelatityOne FOIA workflow consists of four steps: Intake, Search, Review and Response. As you complete the tasks for a step, the workflow automatically advances you to the next. You can also jump from one step to another to view details.

B. Action buttons—includes Back, which redirects you to the previous screen, and Other Actions, consisting of the following:

  • Email Requester—opens an email template you can use to contact the requester.
  • Extension—opens a template for extending the processing due date. Extensions can only be taken on perfected requests. Select one or more circumstances for the extension, then select the type, or number of days to extend the processing.
  • Toll Clock—opens a form for requesting a change to the clock status.

C. Activity—opens the Activity History panel. You can search the activity log by keyword or activity type, such as status changes. At the bottom of the pane is the Log Communication option. You can add an entry to the activity log to capture communication outside of the portal prompts. For example, you might record an email that you received from an outside source regarding the request.

D. Progress bar—indicates the status of workflow sub-sections. A green circle indicates the sub-section is complete for the workflow step. This may be because the requester did not request further review, such as not requesting a fee waiver, or the agency reviewer completed all of the tasks within the sub-section.

E. Request details—the request details including requester input, attachments, and reviewer actions.

F. AI Summary—provides a summary of the request. AI also analyzes the validity of the request and will indicate if the request does not appear to be legitimate.

G. Attachments—lists attachments provided throughout the workflow.

H. Actions—provides an overview of the requester's basic information such as fee waiver requests and expedited processing.

FOIA agencies review and process requests through the RelativityOne FOIA portal. To access the portal, log in to RelativityOne and click FOIA in the sidebar menu.

The RelativityOne FOIA portal displays a dashboard, followed by a list of active requests. Click the Request ID to open the Request Details screen and FOIA workflow steps.

The list of open requests in RelativityOne FOIA.

The request description is summarized by AI, saving on time and effort for review.

Request coordinators confirm that FOIA requests meet all required policies and, once complete, mark them as perfected to move the request to the searching stage. There are two sub-sections for the Intake step: Evaluation and Confirm Perfection.

The FOIA request details screen show status and priority.

Intake sub-sections

There are two sub-sections for the Intake step: Evaluation and Confirm Perfection.

Evaluation

Click Evaluation to open the modal. The modal displays all of the uncompleted sub-sections. Completed sub-sections are not displayed on the modal.

Fee Category Decision

The requester assigns a fee category to their request. Options are:

  • Commercial
  • Educational or scientific
  • Media
  • Other

During evaluation, you can agree or disagree with the requester's selection. If you disagree, you must reassign the category to one of the remaining options, and then provide a justification for your decision.

Fee category screen where you can confirm or assign a fee category.

Steps:

  1. Select a new Fee Category.
  2. Provide a reason for your decision in the Justification for Decision box.
Fee Waiver Decision

If the requester asked for a fee waiver, review their justification, then either grant, moot, or deny the waiver. You must provide a justification for your decision.

Fee Waiver screen where you can grant or deny waiver requests.

Steps:

  1. Click Grant, Moot, or Deny for your decision. A moot decision means the fee waiver does not apply to the request.
  2. Enter a reason in the Justification for Decision box.
Expedited Processing Decision

If the requester asked for expedited processing, review their justification, then either grant, moot, or deny the waiver. You must provide a justification for your decision.

Request expedited processing and provide a justification.

Steps:

  1. Click Grant, Moot, or Deny to confirm your decision. A moot decision means expedited processing does not apply to the request.
  2. Enter a reason in the Justification for Decision box.
Processing Track Assignment

Track assignment is the expected effort and urgency required to complete the request.

Processing track assignment screen where you can mark the request simple, complex, or expedited.

Steps:

  1. Select a Processing Track option.
    • Simple—minimal effort; small amount of records.
    • Complex—requires significant time or resources to complete the request. Complex requests generally consist of a larger number of records, multiple offices, sensitive data, or urgent public interest.
    • Expedited—takes priority over other requests. There must be a compelling need for expedited requests.
  2. If you select Complex or Expedited, enter your reason in the Justification for Decision box.
First Party Request

You can change the requester's first party request entry. If marked yes, the requester is the individual named in the records or is authorized to represent the individual named in the records.

First Party screen that declares if the request is by the first party.

Steps:

  1. Select Yes or No for Is this a First Party Request?
  2. Enter a reason in the Justification for Decision box.
Search Manager

In this section, you will assign the request to the appropriate office, group, or person responsible for reviewing or processing or the request. When you select an option, additional fields will appear that you will use to further define the assignment.

The assignment screen is where you assign the request to another office or user.

Steps:

  1. Select an Assignment Type.
    • Office—use this option to assign the processing to an office or organization.
      • Office—select an office or organization from the drop-down list.
      • User (Optional)—select a user from the drop-down list. Users are filtered based on the office you select.
    • Group—use this option to assign the processing to a predefined group.
    • User—use this option to assign the processing to a single user.

Save your entries

Now that you have completed the evaluation steps, select Save to commit your responses and return to the Intake screen.

Note now, the progress bar buttons on the Intake screen are now green, indicating you have successfully completed the steps.

The progress buttons on the intake screen turn green when you have successfully completed the steps.

Confirm Perfection

Perfection means all of the components of the request have been met according to policy and the request can be routed to the office responsible for researching documents. Click the Confirm Perfection button to get started.

The confirm perfection screen is where you declare if the request is perfected or not perfected.

  1. Is the request reasonably described?—Select Yes or No. You must enter a reason if you select No. You cannot perfect the request if you select No.
  2. Is the request made in accordance with the Agency's regulations?—Select Yes or No. You must enter a reason if you select No. You cannot perfect the request if you select No.
  3. Click Confirm Perfection open the confirmation letter template. You cannot confirm perfection if any of the questions have a No answer.
Acknowledgment Letter - Processing

Use the email template to customize a response to the requester. Relativity has a number of FOIA-related email templates to get you started in your responses. You will see two types of prompts: replacement text and merged fields.

  • <***ABC***>—indicates text you must provide. Replace the prompt with text specific to the request.
  • [ABC]—indicates merged content that is pulled directly from the preexisting record. Relativity will populate these prompts for you.

The email template for informing the requester their submittal is perfected and now ready for processing.

When you complete the text replacement prompts, click Preview Email Content. If you are satisfied with the email, click Confirm and Send. You cannot recall the email after you send it, so be sure review the content carefully. If you need to make changes, click Back to Edit.

Clock start policies vary by agency. Relativity follows the DOJ's policy:
  • The clock starts when the request is received, not when it’s perfected.
  • If something is missing during the perfection evaluation, the clock can be stopped.
  • The clock restarts once perfection occurs.

The progress buttons now reflect the perfection step progress. Use the Back button at the top of the screen to return to the RelativityOne FOIA portal. Note now, the Perfection status is now Perfected.

The FOIA list with one list item highlighting its perfected status.

At this point, Intake is complete and the workflow moves to the Search step.

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