Before submitting a FOIA request for a NAVINSGEN record, look in the NAVINSGEN FOIA Reading Room to see if it is already posted and ready to download immediately. If you request a record that is in the Reading Room, we will simply refer you to the Reading Room. The FOIA Reading Room contains a document that explains our practice for posting reports in the Reading Room.

If you do not see the record you seek on our website, you may send a FOIA request to NAVINSGEN through the multi-agency FOIAonline website. We encourage you to create a requester account in order to use FOIAonline most effectively. You need not create an account to make requests, but doing so will give you access to more features, including a record of your requests and a repository for records we release to you.

In order to direct your requests directly to NAVINSGEN, select "Department of the Navy" in the dropdown menu "Agency Selection" list. After selecting "Chief of Naval Operations" from the sub-agency dropdown menu that appears next, scroll down to "Naval Inspector General" in the third dropdown agency selection menu.

You also may mail your request to:
Office of the Naval Inspector General
ATTN: Legal Office FOIA Officer
1254 9th Street, S.E.
Building 172
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5006

The following search terms will help you to find requests for NAVINSGEN records in FOIAonline:

• "DON IG" – (in quotes) this is the broadest search term, which may return results that are not NAVINSGEN or other DON IG office records.
• "DON IG Investigation Report" – (in quotes) substitute "inspection" or "area visit" for "investigation" if seeking that type of report
• NIGHTS - this search will return requests for records contained in the Naval Inspector General Hotline Tracking System that NAVINSGEN and other Navy (not Marine Corps) IG offices use to track complaints and requests for assistance they receive.
• A specific NIGHTS case number such as 201312345.

You do not need to create an account to conduct these searches. At this time we have not posted any responsive records in FOIAonline, but hope to begin doing so later this week.

You also may mail your request to:
Office of the Naval Inspector General
ATTN: Legal Office FOIA Officer
1254 9th Street, S.E.
Building 172
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5006

All FOIA and/or PA requests must be in writing and include the following information:

1. Your name, complete mailing address and telephone number.

   If you send the request by postal mail, consider including an email address we may use to contact you with any questions we may have about your request.

2. A statement that you are making a FOIA and/or PA request.

   In general, make a PA request to ask records about yourself (Example: "A copy of all reports of investigations in which I was a complainant or a named subject") and make a FOIA request for records about others. Whichever type of request you make, however, we will consider both the FOIA and the PA in determining how to respond and provide you the most information that we may release to you under either statute.

3. A reasonable description of the specific record you seek that is sufficient to enable the Legal Office to identify the record.

   The best way to describe a report of investigation is to give us the eight or nine digit case number (ex: 20071234; 200812345) assigned in our hotline tracking system.

   If you were a Complainant, Subject, or Witness in an investigation the investigator may have given you the case number. If you do not have the case number, consider asking the investigator to provide it to you before making the request to us. If you cannot obtain the case number, identify the command involved in the investigation, the timeframe, the general subject matter of the investigation, and the IG office that conducted the investigation.

   Do not identify the report you seek by the name of the Complainant unless you are the Complainant. Do not identify the report you seek by the name of the Subject unless you are the Subject (exception: we will respond to requests that identify a Subject if the Navy previously officially and publicly acknowledged the individual is/was the Subject of an investigation or, for senior official Subjects, if an allegation was substantiated.

   For inspections and area visits, identify the command or the area the report is about, and the approximate date we conducted the inspection or area visit.

4. A statement that you agree to pay fees associated with the release of the record you are requesting, or a request that we waive fees.

   Note: You may limit the amount of money you are willing to pay without further consultation. (Example: "I agree to pay up to $25. If the fees will exceed $25 please provide me an estimate of the fees before processing my request").