20-day federal response window
Agencies must determine within 20 days (excluding holidays) whether to comply with a FOIA request. Our system tracks and alerts on this deadline deterministically.
The most rigorous public records response desk a small agency can deploy.
RecordProof clears FOIA / public-records-act backlogs and runs the ongoing response desk: search coordination, responsive-record review, document and video redaction drafting with statutory exemption citations, exemption logs, response letters, and deadline management — with a trained records analyst verifying every unit and the agency's records officer and counsel retaining all release decisions.
Every state's statutory deadlines and penaltiesResponsive-record classification & exemption taggingDocument & bodycam video redaction draftingExemption log with pinpoint citations5-business-day SLA
Why backlogs grow
A single missed deadline can trigger per-day penalties and lawsuits.
Every state has a public records law with deadlines; most have fee-shifting and some have per-day penalties. Request volumes are at record highs at every level of government while roughly half a million state/local government jobs sit vacant — the work lands on clerks and police records units that are already underwater.
Body-worn-camera video turned an annoying paperwork duty into a forensic production problem. One California city burned ~170 staff hours redacting a single bodycam request and, per the state supreme court, could not bill the requester.
Agencies already pay for this problem three ways: workflow software (GovQA/NextRequest), outsourced redaction vendors, and litigation payouts. Nobody productizes the full outcome — 'your queue is cleared, on time, with a defensible exemption log' — at a flat per-request price for small and mid-size agencies.
267,056
federal backlogged requests FY2024, +33% YoY
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the statute — subsection by subsection.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every request is processed against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of the applicable public records act. These are the provisions each response is held to.
5-day response in Washington
Agency must respond within five business days. Violations may result in per-day penalties of $5–$100 per record. Our SLA guarantees no missed deadlines.
5-day response in Illinois
Agency must respond within five business days. Willful violations carry civil penalties of $2,500–$5,000. Our process ensures timely acknowledgment and production.
10-day response in California
Agency must determine within 10 days whether to comply. Fee-shifting awards attorney fees to prevailing requesters. Our exemption log provides a defensible record.
Per-day penalty exposure
Washington courts may award $5–$100 per day per record for unreasonable delay. Our deadline audit trail protects against such claims.
Nine FOIA exemptions
Every withholding must cite a specific exemption. Our system tags proposed redactions with pinpoint exemption citations and generates a complete exemption log.
How a response is built
Intake to analyst verification, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and drafts. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A trained records analyst verifies every redaction. The agency's records officer and counsel make every release decision. That order is never reversed.
01
Backlog Exposure Scan
Upload your request queue export (GovQA/NextRequest/spreadsheet). We return a free completeness read: which requests are past deadline, which need responsive records, and which require video redaction.
02
Search & collection
As your authorized clerical agent, we coordinate search across departments, collect responsive records and video, and build a secure evidence repository.
03
Grounded drafting
AI classifies responsive/non-responsive, tags exemption candidates, proposes redactions with pinpoint statutory citations, and drafts the response letter — no legal opinions, no invented facts.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
Deadlines are verified against statutory windows; exemption logs are checked for completeness; redaction proposals are reconciled against the statute. Any failure blocks release.
05
Analyst verification
A trained records analyst reviews every redaction and exemption citation, verifying accuracy and consistency. High-sensitivity or novel exemption calls route to attorney review.
06
Delivery
You receive the release package: responsive-record set with proposed redactions, exemption/withholding log with citations, draft response letter, and deadline audit trail — ready for the agency's records officer to approve and send.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Analyst-verified
No response ships without a trained analyst's sign-off.
5 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to release-ready package.
<1%
Deadline-miss target
Tracked against a gold-standard response library.
50+
Statutory regimes supported
Federal FOIA and all 50 state public records acts.
Why RecordProof
Built to be the most thorough option a small agency has.
Documentation-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every responsive record, redaction, exemption citation, and deadline accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A drafting error cannot slip past a statutory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never make release decisions, give legal advice, or communicate with requesters. The agency retains full control.
Engagement
Flat fee, per released request. No contingency, ever.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not a cut of any recovery.
- A free Backlog Exposure Scan before you commit — see exactly what is past deadline and what is missing.
- One flat fee per released response package; disclosed pass-through search fees.
- Optional fixed-fee attorney review for novel exemption calls or high-sensitivity requests.
- Optional ongoing response desk retainer for agencies that want continuous coverage.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is RecordProof a law firm?
No. RecordProof, a service of Your Deputy, Obuke LLC, provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent you in any legal matter. Attorney review is available and recommended for novel exemption calls or high-sensitivity requests.
Do you communicate with requesters or make release decisions?
Never. RecordProof is not a public records officer and does not communicate with requesters or make discretionary release decisions. The agency's records officer and counsel retain all release authority.
What makes a response 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the statute: responsive records identified, proposed redactions with pinpoint exemption citations, a complete exemption log, a draft response letter, and a deadline audit trail. Deterministic gates enforce each one before release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is five business days from complete intake to an analyst-verified release package. The free Backlog Exposure Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is past deadline.
How are you priced?
A flat fee per released response package, plus disclosed pass-through search costs. No contingency and no percentage of any recovered amount or sale proceeds.
See what's past deadline before it costs you a lawsuit.
Start with a free Backlog Exposure Scan. Send your request queue export and we'll return a completeness read against every applicable statutory deadline.
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · the agency makes every release decision.