How to Start Requesting Government Records Through the ATIP Request Service in Canada

The ATIP Online Request Service is the federal government's online channel for asking for government records and for your own personal information held by federal institutions. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat administers the service on behalf of the President of the Treasury Board, who holds overall responsibility for the government-wide administration of the two Acts behind it, as set out in How access to information and personal information requests work. This guide walks through using that service: choosing the request type, finding the institution that holds the records, submitting the request, paying the fee where one applies, tracking the request, and receiving the reply.

State plainly what the service does not decide. The service is the way in: it takes your request, routes it to the institution you name, and delivers the reply. It does not decide whether records exist, whether they will be released, or how much of them you will see. Each government institution has an Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator responsible for ensuring requests received by that institution are responded to in accordance with the Acts, and each institution has a duty to assist requesters, on the same page. The service covers federal government institutions subject to the Acts only; it is not a route to provincial or municipal government records or to records held by private organizations. This guide gives no legal advice and does not interpret the Acts for any particular request.

Work through the steps in order. The request type you choose in step 1 decides the fee, the form, and which Commissioner hears a complaint, so settle it before you write anything.

1. Choose the request type: government records or your own personal information

There are two request types, and the service pages draw the line by what you are asking for, not by who you are. If you are seeking access to government records generally, you can submit an access to information request under the Access to Information Act. If you are seeking access to your own personal information held by a government institution, you can submit a request for personal information under the Privacy Act. Both wordings are from How access to information and personal information requests work.

Eligibility differs between the two Acts as that page states it. The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents and any person or corporation present in Canada a right to access records of government institutions that are subject to the Act. The Privacy Act gives everyone the right to access their personal information held by government institutions that are subject to the Act, and protects that information against unauthorized collection, use, retention and disclosure. The Privacy Act also governs how the government handles personal information generally; an access request under it is about your own information only.

Examples make the line concrete. A request for briefing notes, contracts, or correspondence about a federal program is a government-records request under the Access to Information Act. A request for the file a department holds about you, such as your own application records or case notes, is a personal information request under the Privacy Act. If your request mixes the two, split it: describe the general records in one request and your own personal information in another, so each is handled under the right Act with the right fee. If you genuinely cannot tell which type fits, contact the coordinator of the institution you think holds the records before submitting; the duty to assist means the institution, not the online form, is where a borderline case gets sorted.

2. Check whether the records are already released, and find the institution that holds them

Before making an access to information request, search the summaries of access to information requests for records that have already been released by the Government of Canada, to see if you can find what you are looking for there, as Make a request recommends in its first step. A released summary may already contain the records, or may show you the wording and date range that produced a successful release, which you can reuse. Do not skip this step for a general-records request: it is the cheapest way to get records that have already been processed.

Your request must be directed to a specific institution, and it goes to the institution that holds the information you are requesting. If you are not sure which one, you will be able to search by topic on the online service and see a list of suggested institutions that may hold your records, on the same Make a request page. For a mailed or emailed request, find out which institution holds the information by reviewing the list of institutions you can request information from and what institutions do and what information they hold, and by finding out what each institution does and what information it holds. Institutions are also responsible for providing comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date descriptions of their programs, activities, related information holdings and personal information banks, in the inventory known as Info Source, according to How access to information and personal information requests work.

Name the institution precisely in your request. A request sent to the wrong institution costs time: it may be transferred to another federal institution if that institution could have the records, but it will not be transferred if the records are under the control of a provincial or municipal government or a private institution, on the same page. If the records you want are provincial or municipal, this federal service is the wrong route entirely.

3. Decide between an account and a guest request, and set up the account if you choose one

You have two ways into the service. If you do not want to make an account, you can make a request as a guest user without one, according to Create a secure ATIP Online account. A guest request still reaches the institution; what you give up is the tracking, messaging and online delivery described in steps 6 and 7. If you plan on making multiple requests, having an account will help you keep track of your requests and responses, on the same page. Choose the account if you expect follow-up, an extension, or a second request on the same topic; choose guest for a single request you are content to receive by mail.

Creating an account takes four steps on that page. First, create a CanadaLogin credential: your ATIP Online account is protected using CanadaLogin, the Government of Canada's online authentication service, and if you already have a CanadaLogin you created for a different Government of Canada service, you may sign in with it. If you do not have one, you will need to create one by providing a valid email address, using that email to provide a code, and creating a password. Second, secure your account: CanadaLogin uses multi-factor authentication, and you will be asked to choose a 2-step verification method, either a passkey using your device's fingerprint, face recognition or screen lock code, a text message with one-time codes to your mobile phone, or a voice call with one-time codes to your mobile phone, landline or soft phone. The page suggests securing your account with the highest level of authentication available, the passkey. Third, fill in your contact details: once you have secured your account, you will be prompted to complete your account profile and provide your name, address, phone number and email address. Fourth, confirm your account: once you have signed up, you will receive an email to confirm your account, and the page advises checking your spam folders if you do not receive an email within a couple of hours. With your account confirmed, you will be taken to your account dashboard, where you can begin to make a request.

Keep the CanadaLogin credential and the 2-step verification method you chose somewhere you can recover them. The reply and the response package are delivered to the online account, so losing access to the credential means losing the fastest route to your own reply.

4. Describe the records precisely

A vague request is the most common self-inflicted delay. The institution may be able to process your request more quickly if your request is more specific and detailed, according to How access to information and personal information requests work. Write the description as if the person searching has never heard of your topic: name the subject matter in detail, give a date range, and name the kinds of records you mean, such as correspondence, briefing notes, reports, or applications.

For a request submitted by mail or email as a letter, Make a request lists exactly what to include: the records you are seeking, described as specifically as possible, for example with a date range and detailed subject matter; your preferred method of receiving the records, copies sent electronically or by mail, or viewing the records in person; your email address or telephone number in case there are questions; your name, street address, city or town, province or territory and postal code; and the date of your request. The letter must also clearly indicate that the request is being made under either the Access to Information Act or the Privacy Act. The online service asks for the same substance through its own fields, and your account profile details are entered automatically for every request if you have an account, according to Create a secure ATIP Online account.

For personal information requests, additional information may be requested by the government institution to verify your identity, on the Make a request page. Expect that follow-up and answer it promptly; an unverified personal information request cannot proceed on your word alone. There are three request forms depending on the type of request: the Access to Information Request Form, the Personal Information Request Form, and the Record Correction Request Form, on the same page. Use the form that matches the request type you chose in step 1, or the letter format above if you cannot download or print the form.

5. Submit the request and pay the fee where one applies

Submit online through the ATIP Online Request Service, or by mail or email to the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator of the institution holding the records. For a mailed or emailed request, look up the coordinator's contact information, which is listed by institution, before you send anything, according to Make a request. Send the completed form or letter to that coordinator, not to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat generally: the Secretariat administers the service government-wide, but the institution that holds the records is the one that responds.

The fee depends entirely on the request type. There is no fee for personal information requests and no fee for correcting your personal information, and for access to information requests, include the $5 application fee, on the same Make a request page. How access to information and personal information requests work states the same split: there is no charge to request access to your personal information under the Privacy Act, and to request access to records through the Access to Information Act, there is a $5 application fee. For a mailed request, cheques or money orders can generally be made payable to the Receiver General of Canada, but for government institutions without a Receiver General account, cheques and money orders must be made out directly to the institution, so contact the coordinator to confirm before sending your request.

If you are asking for the $5 fee to be waived, do not submit through the online platform. How access to information and personal information requests work states that to request a fee waiver, you should submit your request through an ATIP coordinator, and should not submit your request on the ATIP Online Platform, as it does not offer an option to bypass payment. Complete the Access to Information Request Form first, identify the right coordinator, and contact the coordinator explaining your reason for requesting a waiver, attaching the completed form. The head of the institution decides on a case-by-case basis, considering factors such as whether the information is normally made available without a charge, the degree of general public benefit from its release, and the circumstances and facts surrounding the request, and if the fee is not waived, the head will explain why. Waiver examples on the page include a convincing public-interest argument, a student request required for a course, circumstances such as records relating to a death in the requester's immediate family or to financial circumstances, records from a previous response package needing no further processing, and requests made to advance reconciliation, for which no proof of Indigenous identity and no justification of the request are required.

6. Track the request and answer the institution while the 30 days run

Once submitted, the clock is the institution's, not yours. Government institutions have 30 days to respond to an access to information request or a request for personal information, according to How access to information and personal information requests work. Count from the institution's receipt of the request, and keep the submission confirmation or mailing proof that fixes that date.

Extensions are part of the process, not a failure of it. For a request under the Access to Information Act, an extension beyond the original 30 days may be taken if the request involves a large number of records, or if consultations with other government institutions or third parties are necessary because the records include information provided by them. For a request for personal information under the Privacy Act, an extension of up to 30 additional days may be taken if meeting the 30-day deadline would unreasonably interfere with the operation of the institution, or if consultations are required. In either case, if an extension is required, you will be notified within the first 30 days and told the reason why more time is needed, on the same page. Do not treat silence after 30 days as a refusal: check whether an extension notice arrived first, and use the account messaging in the next paragraph before complaining.

With an ATIP Online account, tracking is the account itself. Track and receive your response states that you will be able to see all your requests regardless of which institution is specified, get real-time status updates showing when your request is open and when it is complete, and receive email notifications to check your account when the status changes or you get a message about your request. You can also send secure messages to your ATIP officer and receive messages back, update your request, provide additional documents, and answer questions to clarify and expedite your request, all through the account. Answer those messages quickly: a clarification question left unanswered is time the 30 days keep consuming. Without an account, your route to the institution is the coordinator's contact details from step 5.

7. Receive the reply, review what was released, and act on what was not

With an account, the reply comes to you online. Track and receive your response states that you can access the information as soon as it is ready, and even if the institution has not finished reviewing all the records you requested, you can get the completed records without waiting for the entire package to be ready. You can receive the package electronically, view it in your browser or download it. The service allows up to five documents of 1 GB each, or a total of 5 GB for each request response, and some response packages will always be too large to download online. If you do not have an account, you can receive your records by mail or view them in person, on the same page. You may also receive records electronically or by mail generally, or make arrangements through the coordinator to view the records in person, according to How access to information and personal information requests work.

Review the package against your original description before deciding anything was missed. Records are generally provided in the language in which they were created, and you can request translation into French or English subject to limitations, request an accessible format where the institution decides it is reasonable and necessary, and request an open and reusable format where feasible, on the same page. If pages are withheld, the response should show the basis: the exclusions and exemptions summarized in the FAQ above. A partial release is a normal outcome, not evidence the request failed.

Two remedies close the process. If you are not satisfied with how the request was processed or with the records you received, complain to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada for an access to information request, or to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada for a personal information request or for how your personal information was handled, as set out in How access to information and personal information requests work. If personal information held about you is wrong or missing, ask the institution to correct it: if it agrees it will correct the file, and if it does not agree it must note your request for correction and attach it to the record, and contact institutions it shared the information with in the last two years so they can make the same correction or notation. Keep the response package and the request confirmation together; a later request on the same topic, a complaint, or a correction all start from those two documents.

Related guides:

• How to Start Using CRA My Account in Canada — the CRA portal where much personal tax information is already available without an ATIP request; this guide covers requesting records the portal does not provide
• How to Start Using My Service Canada Account (MSCA) in Canada — the Service Canada portal for employment insurance, pension and benefit records; this guide covers the separate federal request service for records held elsewhere
• How to Start Applying for a Canadian Passport in Canada — applying for a passport document itself; this guide covers requesting the government records behind a decision or file, not the document
• How to Start Getting a Social Insurance Number as a Newcomer to Canada — obtaining a SIN for work and benefits; this guide covers requesting personal information a federal institution already holds about you
• How to Escalate a Consumer Complaint in Canada — escalating a complaint about a business or service; this guide covers complaining to the Information or Privacy Commissioner about a federal records request

Sources

• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, How access to information and personal information requests work — the difference between the two Acts, who each Act covers, the $5 fee and no-fee rule, fee waivers, the 30-day response rule and extensions, exemptions and exclusions, transfers, viewing and translation, correction, and complaints
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Make a request — searching released summaries, finding the holding institution, the three request forms, letter contents for mail or email requests, and sending the request with the fee to the institution's coordinator
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Create a secure ATIP Online account — the guest option, CanadaLogin, 2-step verification methods including passkey, contact details, and email confirmation for an ATIP Online account
• Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Track and receive your response — seeing all requests in one account, real-time status updates and email notifications, secure messaging with the ATIP officer, partial release of completed records, and the 5 GB download limit

No figure in this guide was carried from a secondary source. The following were cut because they could not be verified on an opened Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat page: any count of participating institutions; any statement that the $5 fee covers a set number of hours of search and preparation or that further processing charges apply; the online payment method for the fee; any fixed maximum extension length for access to information requests, since the Treasury Board page states extension grounds and notice but no fixed cap; any list of identity documents required for a personal information request generally, since the Treasury Board page states only that additional information may be requested to verify identity; and whether a guest request can be tracked online, since the tracking page describes account features only. Check the Treasury Board pages linked above, or the Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator of the institution holding the records, before relying on any of those points.