If your request is refused

What to do if your request is refused#

If you asked for information and the authority said no, that’s not the end. Many refusals are overturned on review or appeal. In 2024-25, the Scottish Information Commissioner found wholly or partly in favour of the requester in 71% of decided cases.

There are three stages to challenging a refusal. The first two are free and are designed so that ordinary people can use them without professional help.

Step 1: Ask for a review#

Write to the authority and ask them to review their decision. In the law, this is called a “requirement for review.” You don’t need to use legal language. You’re simply telling the authority that you are not happy with their decision, and asking them to look at it again.

Your review request must be in writing (email is fine), and should include:

• Your name and the date of the original request
• What you asked for
• Why you’re unhappy with the response, for example, you think an exemption was applied wrongly, or the public interest test wasn’t done properly

You don’t need to build a legal case, but if you can explain specifically what you think went wrong, it will help ensure the authority takes your views into account.

You have 40 working days from the date you received the refusal to ask for a review. If the authority never replied at all, the 40 working days runs from the date they should have replied (the day after the original 20 working day deadline).

The authority then has 20 working days to carry out the review and send you their decision. The review will typically be done by someone who wasn’t involved in the original decision, though the law doesn’t explicitly require this. If the review simply repeats the original refusal without engaging with your arguments, that’s worth noting for your appeal.

The review can go three ways: they release the information, they uphold the refusal, or they release some of the information and withhold the rest.

Good to know: If the authority tells you that your original request was vexatious or repeated, and refuses to carry out a review on those grounds, you can go straight to the Commissioner. You don’t need to wait.

Need help? The Commissioner’s office can advise you at the review stage, not just at appeal. If you’re unsure how to frame your review request or whether you have grounds, contact them at enquiries@foi.scot before you write to the authority.

Here’s an example of what a review request might look like:

Dear Glasgow City Council,

I am writing to request a review of your response to my FOI request dated 15 March 2025, in which I asked for copies of all consultant reports relating to the redevelopment of Sauchiehall Street.

You refused my request under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA, stating that disclosure would prejudice commercial interests. I do not think this exemption has been applied correctly. The redevelopment contract has already been awarded and the tender process is complete, so I cannot see how disclosure of the reports would cause commercial harm at this stage.

I would also note that no public interest test was included in your response, despite section 33 being a qualified exemption.

I would be grateful if you would review this decision.

Yours faithfully, James Murray

You don’t need to be this detailed, but the more specific you can be, the harder it is for the reviewer to dismiss your concerns.

Step 2: Appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner#

If the review upholds the refusal, or if the authority doesn’t respond to your review request within 20 working days, you can appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. This costs nothing.

The Commissioner is independent. They don’t work for the authority or the Scottish Government. Their role is to decide whether the authority handled your request in line with the law.

How to appeal#

The quickest route is through the online application form at foi.scot. You can also appeal by email or letter.

Your appeal should include:

• Your name and contact details
• The name of the authority
• A copy of your original request, the authority’s response, your review request, and the review outcome (or confirmation that they didn’t respond)
• An explanation of why you think the refusal was wrong

You have six months from the date you received the review response to lodge your appeal, or six months from when you should have received it if the authority didn’t reply.

What happens during an investigation#

Once the Commissioner accepts your appeal:

1. They notify the authority and share your complaint
2. They ask the authority for its full response, including any withheld information
3. They investigate both sides and may ask you for more details
4. They issue a Decision Notice setting out their findings

Investigations can take several months, so you will need to be patient. The Commissioner’s office has increased its capacity and issued a record 335 decisions in 2024-25, but it still takes time.

What the Commissioner can do#

The Commissioner can:

• Order the authority to disclose the information. This is legally binding.
• Uphold the refusal if they find the authority acted lawfully.
• Partly uphold, ordering disclosure of some information while accepting that other parts are exempt from disclosure.
• Resolve things informally. The Commissioner may suggest a way to settle the matter without a formal decision — for example, by getting the authority to release the information voluntarily. If this happens, the Commissioner will only close the case with your agreement.

The Commissioner can also find that the authority breached other parts of the law, such as the duty to respond on time or the duty to help requesters.

All decision notices are published on the Commissioner’s website at foi.scot/decisions. They’re worth reading, not just for your own case, but to understand how the Commissioner interprets when the exemptions should apply.

Good to know: The Scottish Information Commissioner is also a public authority and subject to FOI law. If your original request was made to the Commissioner’s own office and they refuse it after a review, you cannot appeal to them. The Commissioner is not allowed to investigate their own decisions. For these specific requests, this independent appeal stage isn’t available, and your only remaining option would be to take the case directly to the Court of Session.

Unhappy with how the Commissioner handled your appeal? If your concern is about the investigation process rather than the decision itself, you can complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). This won’t change the decision about your request, but it can address problems with how the appeal was handled.

Cases you can’t take to the Commissioner: You cannot appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner about requests made to a procurator fiscal. For the Lord Advocate, the restriction only applies to information held in connection with criminal prosecutions and the investigation of deaths. If you requested other types of information from the Crown Office (for example, general administrative or spending information), you can appeal to the Commissioner as normal. If you are unhappy with how a procurator fiscal handled your request, your only route is to the Court of Session.

Step 3: Appeal to the Court of Session#

Either side, you or the authority, can appeal the Commissioner’s decision to the Court of Session. This is a legal appeal on a point of law only, and not a full rehearing of the case.

In practice, this is very rare. It can be expensive, you’d probably need a solicitor, and it only applies where you believe the Commissioner made a legal error. In the vast majority of cases, the Commissioner’s decision is the final stage.

Either side has 42 calendar days from the date the Decision Notice is received to lodge an appeal with the Court of Session. Unlike most other deadlines in this guide, this is calendar days, not working days.

In very limited circumstances, the First Minister has the power to issue a ministerial certificate that overrides a Commissioner’s decision notice. If this happens in your case, the Commissioner will tell you. This power has never been used.

Practical tips#

Keep everything. Save copies of your original request, the authority’s response, your review request, and any other correspondence about your request. Dates matter, so if you are making a request by post, make a note when you sent things and when you received replies.

Be specific about what went wrong. “I disagree with the refusal” is a valid starting point, but your review or appeal will be stronger if you can point to the specific exemption and explain why you think it was misapplied, or why the public interest test should have gone the other way. We have a free tool to help you with this.

Check the decisions database. The Commissioner’s published decisions at foi.scot/decisions let you see how similar cases were decided. If you find a decision where the Commissioner ordered disclosure in comparable circumstances, cite it.

Contact the Commissioner’s office. Their staff can help you understand how the process works. You can contact them at enquiries@foi.scot.

What next?#

If your request involves the environment, you may have additional rights. See Environmental information.

Or go back to What can they refuse? to understand the specific exemptions and whether the authority’s reasoning holds up.