Which agency must a disclosure request be made to, and what must the request state for it to be complete?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the information disclosure request form as filed, to see which agency received it and what the requester stated: name, date of birth, address and contact details, a description of the information sought and the method of disclosure, and the resident registration number where given.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading follows the provision's conditions in order: the requester makes the request, in writing or orally, to the public agency that holds or manages the information, stating their name, date of birth, address and contact details, the content of the information requested and the method of disclosure, and where the requester is a corporation or organisation, its name, representative's name, business registration number or equivalent, principal office address and contact details.
Another reading marks the limits: the resident registration number is required only where confirming the requester's identity is necessary to decide whether to disclose, so a request omitting that number is not defective on that ground alone, and the provision states who receives the request and what it must say, not what the agency must then decide.
Your judgment
If a request reaches the wrong agency, how should the file show whether that agency holds or manages the information at all?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change which items a request must state or to alter the agency a request is made to, or if a rule made under this provision settles what a complete request contains.