FOIA Requests From 3rd Party Does Not Need Requester’s Signature

In a memo, the IRS has provided interim guidance regarding accepting Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from third parties that provide valid authentication documents but do not contain signatures on the actual FOIA request.

This memorandum issues Disclosure policy on accepting third-party FOIA requests without signatures, under certain circumstances, until IRM 11.3.13, Disclosure of Official Information, Freedom of Information Act, is updated. This policy applies to all Disclosure caseworkers who process IRS FOIA requests.

This Interim Guidance (IG) provides an update for accepting FOIA requests from third parties that provide valid authentication documents, but do not contain signatures on the actual FOIA request, per 26 CFR § 601.702(c)(4)(i)(A). FOIA requests for records requiring specific protections by statute (i.e. tax records protected under 26 USC § 6103) currently require the signature of the requester to verify against an ID, notarized statement or penalty of perjury statement. 

Third-party requests must contain appropriate authorization documents (i.e. Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative) which already contain legal penalty of perjury agreements and signatures. Therefore, IRS accepts the signature applied to the authorization document as having met the signature requirement of 26 CFR § 601.702(c)(4)(i)(A) as long as the authorization meets the requirements of 26 CFR § 601.702(c)(5)(iii)(C).

The following note will be added to IRM 11.3.13.3(4):

Note: If a request is received from a third party, seeking records protected by specific statutes (i.e. IRC §6103 protected tax records), regardless of the method the request was received such as mail/fax or the FOIA online portal, and the request contains

1) A signature of the requesting individual, which meets the requirement of 26 CFR § 601.702(c)(4)(i)(A) and

2) The handwritten signature of the appropriate individual or business that the protected records pertain to, which meets the requirement of 26 CFR § 601.702(c)(5)(iii)(C)

Then IRS accepts the signatures applied to the authorization document as having met the IRS FOIA signature requirement. Do not imperfect third-party requests which meet these requirements unless the request is also missing information required to perfect a FOIA request per 26 CFR § 601.702 and as shown below in IRM 11.3.13.3(4)(b) through (g).

Effect on Other Documents: This guidance will be incorporated into IRM 11.3.13, Disclosure of Official Information, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by July 31, 2020. Effective Date: May 5, 2020.

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