Before making a Freedom of Information (FOI) request
There's already a lot of information we make available. You may find the answer to your question online before you make a request.
Information already available to you
We publish anonymised requests and responses on our website. Once information is issued to you in response to your FOI request, it is then considered to be publicly available.
Freedom of Information requests and responses
If the information you're requesting is already publicly available, your request may be refused. We do try to point you in the direction of where the information you need can be found.
Making sure your request is valid under FOI law
You must make your FOI request in writing.
FOI legislation requires that you give us the following information for a request:
- your full name
- a contact address, such as an email address or a postal address
- a clear description of the information you want to receive
You don't have to tell us why you want the information.
Who and what you can ask for
You can make FOI requests about any aspects of the States of Jersey and our work from the following Schedule Public Authorities (SPA's):
- Employment, Social security and Housing
- Children, Young People, Education and Skills
- Health and Care Jersey
- Justice and Home Affairs
- States of Jersey Police
- States Treasurer and Exchequer
- Infrastructure and Environment
- Strategic Policy, Performance and Population
- People Services
- Digital Services
- Ministerial Support Unit
- States Greffe
- Judicial Greffe
- Viscount’s Department
You can ask for any information held on:
- accounts
- government spending
- numbers and statistics
FOI covers information held by SPA's. It doesn't cover personal information about you.
If you want to request information about yourself you can make a Subject Access Request (SAR).
How to make a Subject Access Request
Asking for information in a particular format
We will aim to give you the information in a format that will allow you to access it easily.
We can't create bespoke documents or provide different to the information held.
Keeping records
Information is not kept forever. These SPA’s maintain a list of what information they need to keep and how long it must be kept for.
These can be found
States of Jersey retention schedules.
Make an FOI request
Complete the online form below to make a FOI request.
Make a FOI request
You can also email
FOI@gov.je or write to us. Your request may be delayed if you submit it by email or in writing.
How to write your request
Be specific
Be as specific as you can when you write your FOI request.
This will:
- help the SPA identify the information you have requested
- reduce the chance of your request being misinterpreted
State the precise time period for the information you have requested.
We may refuse your request if the information you ask for covers a long period of time as it could take us too much time to respond.
Try to keep your request clear and objective. This will help us understand what you're asking for and process your request more efficiently.
Request 1 piece of information per request
Try to ask for only 1 piece of information per request or linked pieces of information held instead of asking for several, especially when they're not linked.
Asking for lots of different sets of information can make it difficult for us to understand what you really want to know.
Help with your request
If you need help with writing your FOI request email us at
FOI@gov.je.
Cost to make an FOI request
You don't need to pay to make an FOI request.
gov.je