How to make a Freedom of Information request in Ontario — and autofill your details with my-id.ca
Make a Freedom of Information request without retyping your contact details
An Ontario FOI request form asks for the same name, address, and contact details you enter on every government correspondence form. This guide is an example of storing those repeating fields in my-id.ca.
Official form and source
Start from the official Ontario source and always use the current version — processes can change:
- Service page: Freedom of Information request — ontario.ca
What this process is about
Under FIPPA and MFIPPA, Ontario residents have the right to request records held by provincial ministries and municipal institutions, including their own personal information. Each institution processes requests independently. Institutions have 30 calendar days to respond.
Before you start: what to gather
- Your name, address, and contact details.
- The name of the institution you are requesting from.
- A precise description of the records or personal information you want.
Confirm the institution's FOI coordinator contact and any specific form requirements on ontario.ca or the institution's website.
How my-id.ca makes it faster
- Store your contact details once. Save your name, address, and contact information in my-id.ca.
- Autofill the identity fields. Use the my-id.ca Chrome extension on the FOI submission form, or fill a PDF from your saved profile inside my-id.ca.
- Write the records description yourself — be specific about the subject, date range, and format.
- Submit with the application fee.
Why do it in my-id.ca
Your name and contact details repeat on every FOI request to every institution. Stored once in my-id.ca — in Canada, with no third-party AI — each request starts mostly filled.
Frequently asked questions
- What can I request under Ontario's Freedom of Information law?
- You can request records held by Ontario provincial ministries and many public-sector bodies, including your own personal information. Municipal institutions are covered by MFIPPA. Confirm which institutions accept FOI requests on ontario.ca.
- What does an FOI request form ask for?
- Your name, address, contact details, and a clear description of the records requested. There is typically a $5 application fee. my-id.ca stores your contact details so the repeating fields fill quickly.
- Does my-id.ca draft my records description?
- No. my-id.ca autofills your personal contact details; you write the description of the records you are requesting yourself.
Fill it once. Reuse it everywhere.
Save your information in my-id.ca once, then autofill this form and the next one — web forms with the Chrome extension, PDFs right in the app. Your data is stored in Canada and AI runs on my-id.ca's own servers, never sent to third-party AI providers.