Step 1: Preparing Your Request
*In electronic form
On September 30, 2023, our web-based FOIA/PA portal (FOIAOnline.gov) was decomissioned and can no longer be used. Its replacement, SecureRelease, is operational and available to the public as of Friday, December 15, 2023.
If you would like to submit a FOIA/PA request, please do so online via the new portal at www.securerelease.us. This is the fastest and most reliable way to send us your request, and it ensures that all requests are properly and accurately tracked from the date/time of submission.
To help the Marine Corps respond to your request as quickly as possible, please submit it to the correct agency after reviewing the information below.
For MCB Camp Lejeune housing records – Please submit your request directly to MCI-East under Marine Corps Installations Command.
For your own Official Military Personnel File –
Retired/Discharged/Separated before 1999: www.archives.gov/veterans
Retired/Discharged/Separated after January 1, 1999: smb.manpower.mmrp-10@usmc.mil
For the OMPF of Marine Corps Veterans who were retired, discharged, or deceased before 1999—
National Archives and Records Administration: www.archives.gov/foia
For your own medical record (the Marine Corps does not maintain medical records) -
Retired/Discharged/Separated before May 1, 1994: www.archives.gov/veterans
Retired/Discharged/Separated between May 1, 1994, and December 31, 2013: www.va.gov
Retired/Discharged/Separated on or after January 1, 2014: https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Medicine-Records-Activity/
For awards verification and replacement requests– hqmcMMMA.awards.veteranrequests@usmc.mil
For USMC firearms histories: Please submit your request directly to the Marine Corps Logistics Command.
For background checks: smb.manpower.mmrp-10@usmc.mil
For Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) records: Please submit your request to the United States Navy via the SecureRelease portal.
For other non-HQMC records (including PMO reports, traffic accident reports, command investigations, FAP, etc.), submit your request directly to the command that would have custody of them, if you know. For command points of contact (names, email addresses and phone numbers), please see the list attached.
IMPORTANT: When submitting your request, be sure to provide:
- Your full name.
- Contact information (address, email, and/or phone number).
- A complete and specific description of the Marine Corps records you are looking for.
- The amount you are willing to pay.
- If applicable, your request for a fee waiver or expedited processing with a full explanation of the basis.
**In hardcopy form (written or fax) submit your request:
*Label your request "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST," on the request (and also on the envelope, if you use a written request).
*Describe the specific record(s) you are seeking with enough detail so that a knowledgeable official of the activity may locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort. Such detail should include descriptive information, time frame to be searched, etc. Because most Marine Corps records are not retained permanently, the more information provided, the better opportunity there is to determine if the records would still exist and where. The FOIA clearly states that records must exist at the time the request is submitted to be considered.
*State your willingness to pay all fees or those up to a specified amount or provide a justification to support a fee waiver. Agreements to pay fees are considered to be up to $25, unless another amount is specified. Currently we charge search, review (for commercial requesters only), and duplication costs. (Our fee schedule is provided at enclosure (3) of Secretary of the Navy Instruction 5720.42F).
*Include your complete postal service mailing address on your request.
Step 2: Submitting Your Request
The next step in preparing to submit your request is deciding where to send the request. Because Marine Corps records are decentralized, you will get the fastest response by sending your request directly to the Marine Corps official that generated and/or maintains the record(s) you seek.
*Submitting Your Request to a Marine Corps activity. Please consult our "Where to Send A Request" page for help in locating commands, obtaining addresses, or finding a command's website. Once you have located a command and have its address, you may submit your request is writing to that command. Alternatively, you may submit your request to a command via a web-based FOIA request form, if that command has one available on its website. If after consulting this list, you are not sure which activity may hold the records you seek, you may call the Marine Corps FOIA Program Office at (703) 614-4008 for assistance.
*Submitting your request to Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps (HQMC). If the records you seek are maintained by the Office of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Director, Marine Corps Staff, or any Headquarters Department or Division, or if you are unsure as to where to submit your request, you may use any of the following methods to submit a FOIA request:
A. Submit your request electronically
B. Submit your request via FAX
You may send a fax of your request to (703) 614-6287
C. Submit your request in writing to:
Headquarters US Marine Corps
Attn: FOIA/PA Section (ARSF) Rm 2B289
3000 Marine Corps Pentagon
Washington DC 20350-3000
If the records you seek are not maintained in HQMC files, your request will be forwarded to the U.S. Marine Corps official(s) most likely to maintain the type of records being sought.
Step 3: Processing Your Request
The FOIA allows any person to seek access to agency records. The U.S. Marine Corps processes thousands of FOIA requests annually for a wide variety of information and, in only about 10% of the cases, is information denied. You will receive a response to your request. Please keep in mind that the 20 working day time limit begins when the activity holding the record(s) receives your request and does not include Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays. Due to shrinking budgets, downsizing, complexity of certain requests, the need for classification and legal review, coupled with the number of requests received for processing, some Marine Corps activities may not be able to respond to your FOIA request within 20 working days. To ensure fair and equitable treatment, your request will be placed in one of three multi-track "first-in, first-out" queues -- one track for simple requests; one track for complex requests; and one track for expedited processing requests.
*In limited instances, information may be withheld from disclosure if it is:
-currently and properly classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy [FOIA exemption (b)(1) pertains];
-related solely to internal personnel rules and practices, the release of which would allow circumvention of a statute or rule [FOIA exemption (b)(2) pertains];
-protected by a statute that specifically exempts the information from public release [FOIA exemption (b)(3) pertains];
-trade secrets and commercial or financial information which was obtained from a private source which would cause substantial competitive harm to the information source [FOIA exemption (b)(4) pertains];
-pre-decisional opinions and recommendations, inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters, that show foreseeable harm if released. Also, attorney-client privilege and attorney-work product are covered [FOIA exemption (b)(5) pertains];
-personal and medical information, the release of which would result in a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy [FOIA exemption (b)(6) pertains]; and/or
-investigatory records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, which (a) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (b) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (c) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (d) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identify of a confidential source, (e) would disclose investigative techniques, and/or (f) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual [FOIA exemption (b)(7) pertains].