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UIPA.org

Getting information from the federal government is our right under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), however the process is more opaque than you might expect. The Uniform Information Practices Act 92F (Modified) (UIPA) is the State of Hawaii's version of the FOIA. The UIPA.org portal is a way to help individuals through the process of submitting a FOIA request, as well as open sourcing the requests and responses for others to view - all for free!

An Overview

Before contributing to the project, there are a few things, organizations, and entities that you should be aware of:

• The Freedom of Information Act. Enacted in 1967, this is the federal law that provides the public the right to request records from any federal agency, and where the inspiration of UIPA comes from.
• The "UNIFORM INFORMATION PRACTICES ACT (MODIFIED)" (UIPA). Enacted in 1988, this is the State of Hawaii's version of FOIA (An oversimplification, but 🤷 )
• This "REQUEST TO ACCESS A GOVERNMENT RECORD" form. At the end of the day, this is the form that is submitted to a government agency by the public in request for information.
• The Office of Information Practices (OIP). This is the government agency who administers the UIPA law, and is responsible for ensuring an open government.