DocMuse is a private, paid service run by The Muse Technology EOOD (Bulgaria). It is not a government website and is not connected with mygov.scot, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service or any other public body. It is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Law Society of Scotland or any other legal regulator, so the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission cannot consider complaints about it; its documents are not legal advice.
Requirement for review of a freedom of information answer (Scotland)
Scotland · in English
€2.00Fill it in online free — pay only to download
13 questions · about 5 min
Made for use in Scotland
Fill in the form
Your answers stay on this device for 7 days, or until you clear them.
- Instant download after payment
- Backup link emailed to you
- No account needed
For anyone whose request to a Scottish public authority under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 was refused in whole or part, answered incompletely or not answered within 20 working days: a requirement for review under section 20 of the Act, giving your reasons and asking for the outcome within 20 working days. It is the step before an application to the Scottish Information Commissioner. Send it by email to the authority's FOI address within 40 working days of its reply, or of the date its reply was due.
- Made for use in Scotland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- A Scottish public body refused your request for information and you disagree.
- Your council in Scotland never answered your freedom of information request.
- You were sent only part of what you asked for, or something different.
- You want the authority to look at its answer again before you go to the Commissioner.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Authority or body holding the information
- Address of the authority or body
- The authority's reference for your request (blank if none)
- Date of the request
- Date of the authority's reply (blank if none)
- Why you ask for a review
- Your reasons, in your own words
Common questions
- How long do I have to ask a Scottish authority to review its FOI answer?
- 40 working days from receiving the authority's reply or, if it never replied, from the date the 20 working days ran out. Scottish bank holidays do not count as working days. The authority must give you the outcome within 20 working days of receiving your requirement for review, and the review is usually done by someone not involved in the first answer.
- What must a requirement for review in Scotland say to be valid?
- It must be in writing or another form that can be kept, such as email, and give your name, an address for correspondence, the request concerned and what you are dissatisfied with. Be specific: the exemption relied on and why you think it does not apply or why the public interest favours release, a part of the request left unanswered, a search that seems too narrow, or a cost estimate that looks too high.
- When can I apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner?
- Once the authority has given you the outcome of its review, or has failed to do so within 20 working days. Apply within six months, free, through the Commissioner's online form, with copies of your request, the reply and your requirement for review. The Commissioner can order the authority to release information, and the decision can be appealed on a point of law to the Court of Session.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Formal complaint to your council (Scotland)
For a resident in Scotland unhappy with a council service or decision — bins, potholes, planning enforcement, noise, social work, council housing or poor handling of an earlier request: a formal complaint under the council's complaints handling procedure, saying what happened, what you have done so far and what you want the council to do. Use the council's online form if it has one. An investigated complaint is normally answered within 20 working days; if you are still unhappy after the council's final reply, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman looks at complaints free of charge.
- Freedom of information request to a Scottish public authority (Scotland)
For anyone who wants information held by a Scottish public authority — the Scottish Government, a council, a health board, Police Scotland, a school or a university: a request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, also covering environmental information, asking for a reply within 20 working days (Scottish bank holidays excluded). No reason is needed. Many authorities have their own online form or FOI email address, free. A UK-wide body such as HMRC or the DWP answers under the UK Act instead: use the Freedom of information request to a public authority (UK).
- Request for a redetermination of a Social Security Scotland decision (Scotland)
For someone in Scotland who disagrees with a Social Security Scotland decision on Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment or another Scottish benefit. A written request for a redetermination under section 41 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 — within 42 days for those three benefits, later only with a good reason: it names the determination, says why it is wrong and lists new evidence; a redetermination comes before any tribunal appeal. You can also ask free by phone or online. Posted by recorded delivery. Sold blank, as it may hold health data.
- Letter of consent for a child to travel abroad (Scotland)
For a parent or anyone else with parental responsibilities and rights who is not going on the trip: a signed letter consenting to a child travelling abroad with the other parent, grandparents or a school. In Scotland no one may take a child under 16 who lives here habitually out of the United Kingdom without the consent of a person who has the right to have the child living with them or to keep in contact — of both parents, where both have it (Children (Scotland) Act 1995, s 2(3) and (6)). There is no official form. The letter names the child, the trip and the dates, and gives your telephone number so that border staff or an airline can check it.
- Statutory declaration of change of name for a child (Scotland)
For a parent in Scotland changing the name of a child under 16 — after a divorce, in a new family or at the child’s wish. A statutory declaration by a parent with parental responsibilities and rights, declared before a notary public or a justice of the peace: it records the old and new names, whether every other person with parental responsibilities and rights agrees or the court has allowed the change, and that the child’s views were considered. If the child was born in Scotland, National Records of Scotland can also record the change on its own form, by post. From 16 a young person makes their own declaration.
- Statutory declaration to confirm facts in writing (Scotland)
For anyone in Scotland asked by a bank, employer, council, DVLA or another organisation to confirm facts by statutory declaration — a lost document, living together, a name used, an address or a family link. You write the facts in numbered paragraphs; the document adds the closing words of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. In Scotland you declare it in person before a notary public or a justice of the peace — a solicitor only if they are also a notary — and no fee is set by law, so ask the charge first.