Public records requests shouldn't be a burden on your staff. They're a legal obligation, and they deserve a system that handles them efficiently — with tracking, deadlines, and accountability built in. That's what Zeph's FOIA portal delivers: a complete workflow from public submission through review, redaction, and controlled release, all integrated into the platform your team already uses.
How It Works
The FOIA module is built around three core capabilities that work together to keep requests moving and your office in compliance.
Public Submission — Members of the public submit records requests through a branded portal page hosted on your domain. The submission form captures the request description, requester information (name, contact details, organization), and any relevant case or record identifiers that help your staff locate responsive documents quickly. The form fields are configurable from the admin panel, so you can collect exactly the information your office needs to process a request without requiring unnecessary details that slow down submission.
Automatic Tracking — Every submitted request is assigned a unique tracking number immediately upon submission. Requesters receive an email confirmation with their tracking number and a link to the portal's status page. From that point forward, they can check the status of their request — pending, in review, partially fulfilled, completed, denied — through the portal without calling your office. This self-service tracking dramatically reduces the volume of status inquiry calls and emails that consume staff time.
Statutory Deadlines — Zeph tracks statutory response deadlines based on your jurisdiction's FOIA laws. You configure the response window (five business days, ten calendar days, or whatever your statute requires), and the system calculates the deadline from the date of receipt. Staff see countdown indicators on every open request. When deadlines are approaching, the system sends automated alerts to the assigned reviewer and their supervisor. Overdue requests are escalated automatically according to your configured escalation rules, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
The Review Workflow
Once a request comes in, it enters a structured review workflow that guides your staff through every step of the process:
- Assignment — Assign the request to a specific reviewer, or let auto-assignment rules route it based on request type, department, or workload.
- Document identification — Flag responsive documents from the document archive, case files, or any other module in the platform. Linked documents appear directly in the request record.
- Exemption review — Apply exemption codes at the document or page level. Each exemption references a specific statutory basis (e.g., personal privacy, law enforcement investigation, attorney-client privilege), creating a clear legal record for every redaction decision.
- Redacted copy generation — Generate redacted copies of responsive documents for release. The original unredacted versions are preserved in the archive while the redacted versions are prepared for delivery.
- Denial documentation — Log full or partial denials with statutory exemption references, written explanations, and appeal instructions. The system can generate denial letters from configurable templates.
- Appeal tracking — If a requester appeals a denial, the appeal is tracked as a linked record with its own deadline, assignment, and review workflow. The full history of the original request and all related decisions is preserved.
Controlled Release
Document release isn't a simple "send it" action. Zeph supports controlled release with multiple safeguards to ensure the right documents reach the right person under the right conditions:
- Authority verification — Confirm that the requester has legal standing to receive the requested records. Some records may require proof of relationship, legal representation, or government authority.
- Legal hold checks — The system automatically checks whether any responsive documents are subject to active legal holds. Held documents are flagged and cannot be released until the hold is lifted by an authorized user.
- Fee tracking — Track request fees, per-page copy charges, search time fees, and fee waivers. The system calculates totals automatically and can generate invoices. Release can be gated on payment receipt if your office's policy requires it.
- Delivery confirmation — Record how documents were delivered (portal download, email, mail, in-person pickup) and capture acknowledgment of receipt. The delivery record becomes part of the permanent request file.
Lives Inside the CRM
FOIA is fundamentally a communication and relationship workflow. A requester submits a request, your office responds, there may be follow-up questions, partial releases, denials, appeals, and ongoing correspondence. Treating this as a standalone module disconnected from your contact and communication management creates unnecessary silos.
In Zeph, the FOIA module lives inside the CRM. Requests appear alongside other communications from the same requester. Follow-ups are tracked in the same task system your team uses for every other workflow. The entire conversation history — every email, every portal message, every phone note — is preserved in a single contact record. If a journalist who submitted a FOIA request last month calls with a question about a different case, your staff can see the full relationship history in one place.
Compliance Reporting
Generate FOIA compliance reports showing response times, denial rates, exemption usage by category, overdue request counts, and average processing duration. These reports are critical for annual compliance filings required by many state and federal FOIA statutes, and they're equally valuable for identifying process bottlenecks within your office. If the average response time is creeping up, or if a particular exemption category is being used more frequently, the data is there to inform operational decisions and staffing adjustments.