Ask for a document · Works anywhere
Asking for a copy of a document
A certificate, a statement, a contract, an item from a file. This letter names the document requested, says what it is for and the form it should arrive in.
This page gives the shape of a letter, the words that fit and the public references attached to it. It does not tell you what to do about a particular case, and it does not replace the opinion of a qualified professional. The blanks marked in the letter are for you to fill in.
When this letter fits
- A document is missing and the organisation holding it will not hand it over on a simple phone call.
- A file has been built up about you and you want a copy of it.
- Another organisation requires a certificate that only the first one can issue.
When it does not fit
- The document contains your personal data and it is the whole file you are interested in: the letter about access to your data opens a wider right.
- The document exists and you dispute it: ask for the copy first, then dispute it, document in hand.
- You have already asked for this copy and nobody replied: that is a follow-up.
The letter, in full
The passages that are marked are the blanks to fill in. Paragraphs carrying a condition are written only in the case stated: the workshop does that sorting, or you do it by hand.
your town, the date
Subject: Request for a copy: document requested
Reference: your file number
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am asking you for a copy of document requested.
If “The period concerned” is filled inThe request covers the following period: period concerned.
If “What you need the document for” is filled inwhat you need the document for
If “The form you want it in” is “A paper copy, by post”I am asking you to send it to me by post, to the address given at the top of this letter.
If “The form you want it in” is “A file, electronically”I am asking you to send it to me electronically, to the email address given at the top of this letter.
If “The form you want it in” is “Consultation on the premises”I am asking you to offer me an appointment to examine it on your premises, and to tell me which days and times are possible.
If the copy carries a charge, I am asking you to tell me the amount before producing it, and how it should be paid.
If the document does not exist, or is not held by your department, I am asking you to confirm that to me in writing and to tell me, if you know, who does hold it.
I should be grateful for a reply before date by which you need the document.
This letter is being sent with proof of posting retained.
Yours faithfully,
your first name and surname
Enclosures
- A copy of proof of identity, if the organisation requires it before issuing a document naming you.
- The reference of your file, your contract or your account.
- A copy of the earlier request, if there was one.
The questions to answer
- The document requested
Name it as the organisation names it. A document badly named comes back as an “imprecise request”.
Example: the end-of-contract certificate for the year 2025 - The period concerned optional
A start date and an end date. An open-ended period means somebody has to search, and a request that means searching waits.
Example: from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 - What you need the document for optional
One sentence. It is not a justification you owe anyone, it is what helps the department pull the right document from the right file.
Example: It is needed to complete an application that has to be lodged before the end of the month. - The form you want it in
- A paper copy, by post: To ask for when an original or a stamp is required elsewhere.
- A file, electronically: Quicker, and dated by the message carrying it.
- Consultation on the premises: For a bulky file, or where copies are charged for.
- The date by which you need the document
Give the date, and say why it is that date if a deadline depends on it.
What to ask for, precisely
- The document named exactly, with its period: that is what makes the difference between an answer and a request for clarification.
- The cost stated before the copy is produced, so as not to be met with an invoice.
- A written reply even in the event of a refusal, with its ground: a written refusal can be challenged, silence cannot.
- The name of the department that holds the document, when it is not the one you are writing to.
The documents to attach
- A copy of proof of identity, if the organisation requires it before issuing a document naming you.
- The reference of your file, your contract or your account.
- A copy of the earlier request, if there was one.
The deadline
A month is the time most organisations allow themselves for a request for a document. Set your date according to the deadline pressing on you, and say what it is: a request that names its deadline lets the department place it, where “it is urgent” says nothing.
After sending
- Keep the copy of the letter and the proof of posting: they are what proves the date of the request.
- When it arrives, check that the document really covers the period requested before passing it on elsewhere.
- With no reply by the date you set, the next step is a follow-up recalling the date of the first request.
The legal grounds
This template belongs to the universal core: it invokes no national law, so it has no legal reference to cite. Its strength lies elsewhere, in how precise the facts, the dates and the request are. If your country has a text that strengthens this step, it lives in a country module, separately and by name.