Your information request under the Freedom of Information Law was denied? Fees, deadlines, grounds for refusal and how to petition the administrative court.
The Freedom of Information Law, 1998, grants every citizen and resident of Israel the right to contact public bodies and receive information in their possession, without needing to justify the request. Nonetheless, not every request is granted: a public body may, under certain circumstances, deny a request or respond to it only partially. In this article we review the foundational principles of the request procedure, the fees and deadlines that apply, the main grounds for denying a request, and the possibility of petitioning the Administrative Court when a request is denied in contravention of law.
Every citizen or resident of Israel may submit a request for information, as may corporations registered in Israel, including associations and public bodies operating for public purposes. The request is submitted to the official responsible for implementing the Freedom of Information Law in the government ministry, local authority, public corporation, or public-funded body to which it is directed. A list of the officials in various bodies is published on the website of the government unit for freedom of information. It is important to clarify: the right to receive information pursuant to the law is an independent right, and there is no need to demonstrate personal interest or concrete benefit in order to exercise it.
A request for information must state that it is submitted pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law, and must describe the information sought in a manner that allows the official to identify and locate it. It is recommended to phrase the request as focused and clearly as possible, since an overly general request may encounter difficulty in locating information or may lead to partial denial. Stating the background or purpose for obtaining the information is not mandatory, but may assist when the disclosure of information is subject to discretion. One must enclose with the request proof of payment of the request fee (if applicable), and sometimes also a commitment to bear processing and production costs up to the ceiling set by regulation.
The Freedom of Information (Fees) Regulations, 1999, establish three types of payment, which are updated once a year, on 1 October, according to the Consumer Price Index. As of the latest update published: a request fee is approximately 24 shekels; a processing fee (locating, sorting, and processing the information) is approximately 36 shekels per work hour, starting from the fourth hour; and a production fee for photocopying or printing is approximately 0.24 shekels per page, or approximately 2.96 shekels per computer disk. A requester must commit in advance to bear processing and production costs up to a ceiling of approximately 178 shekels; beyond this amount, the body must contact the requester and obtain approval to continue processing. Requests for personal information about the requester himself or herself, as well as requests by associations operating for public purposes and by researchers in an academic institution, are exempt from the request fee and processing fee for the first seven hours. It is recommended to check the updated amounts with the relevant body when submitting the request, as they change from year to year.
Pursuant to section 7 of the law, a public body must respond to the requester "without delay" and no later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the request by the official. The head of the body, or someone authorized to do so, may extend the deadline for providing a response by 30 additional days, provided that a written notice is given to the requester explaining the need for the extension. For requests that are large in scope or are complex – for example due to the need to locate extensive material, legal complexity, or consultation with many third parties – the head of the body may extend the deadline by an additional 60 days beyond that, so that the total possible period for providing a response may reach 120 days from the date of receipt of the request. The justification for the extension must be individual and tailored to the circumstances of the case, not general. If the request is approved, the body must provide the information in fact within an additional 15 days of the date the decision is issued.
Alongside the grounds giving a public body discretion, section 8 of the law lists circumstances in which a body is permitted – in distinction from required – to refuse a request. Among the grounds: when handling the request requires an unreasonable allocation of resources under the circumstances; when information is more than seven years old and there is genuine difficulty in locating it; when despite reasonable effort the sought information was not found; when the information has already been published and is accessible to the public; and when the information was received from another body and the requester may be directed to it without imposing an unreasonable burden on him or her. It is important to emphasize that this is discretionary judgment by the body and not an automatic refusal obligation, and therefore denial based on section 8 may, in appropriate cases, be examined and appealed.
Alongside the grounds granting discretion, section 9 of the law sets forth a list of categories of information that a body is not permitted to disclose at all. These include: information whose disclosure is likely to harm the security of the State, its foreign relations, or public peace; information classified as classified by the Minister of Defense; information whose disclosure constitutes impairment of privacy under the Privacy Protection Law; information whose disclosure is prohibited by another law; information that is likely to disrupt the proper functioning of the body; policy still in the formative stages; details of negotiations; internal discussions and legal or professional advice; trade and professional secrets; information provided to the body on condition of confidentiality; methods of operation of law enforcement bodies; disciplinary matters; and details concerning the privacy of a deceased person. Even when one of these exceptions applies, the body must consider whether it is possible to disclose the partial information that is not within the scope of classified information, separated from the classified part.
When a public body refuses to disclose information, it must provide the requester with a written notice stating the grounds for refusal, and must indicate that the requester has the right to petition against the decision. Pursuant to section 17 of the law, a petition against a decision to refuse may be filed with the Administrative Court – that is, the District Court sitting as an Administrative Court – except in cases where a classification certificate has been issued, in which case judicial review takes place in the Supreme Court. Territorial jurisdiction is determined according to the location of the body's seat, and in matters concerning real estate – according to the location of the real estate. An alternative, which does not substitute for the judicial procedure but may be a preliminary step, is to file a complaint with the government unit for freedom of information in the Ministry of Justice.
The Administrative Court (Procedure) Rules, 2000, require that the petition be filed within 45 days from the date the decision is received or from the date the requester becomes aware of the decision. Late filing may lead to dismissal of the petition at the threshold, unless the court is persuaded that there exists justification for extending the deadline. The fee for filing an administrative petition is, as of 2026, 2,329 shekels, in accordance with the Schedule of the Courts (Fees) Rules, 2007, as updated in the Courts (Fees) Notice, 2025. Beyond the fee, one must also account for the cost of legal representation, preparing an affidavit, and the possibility of being required to pay court costs in accordance with the outcome of the proceedings. Consequently, we recommend examining carefully, before filing a petition, the prospects for success against the costs involved in the proceeding.
No. The Freedom of Information Law does not require a requester to detail why he or she needs the information, and the right to receive it exists even without demonstrating personal interest. Nonetheless, when the disclosure of information is subject to the body's discretion (for example, pursuant to section 8), providing background information for the request may assist the body in deciding in favor of the requester and reduce the likelihood of denial.
Section 8 grants a body discretion as to whether to refuse, under circumstances such as unreasonable workload or old and difficult-to-locate information. Section 9 sets forth categories of information that are prohibited from disclosure altogether, such as harm to State security or impairment of privacy. It is always important to check whether at least part of the information can be disclosed, after separating the classified portion.
Yes. Contacting the government unit for freedom of information is an additional option, but is not a prerequisite for filing a petition to the Administrative Court. A requester who has received a refusal may choose to go directly to court, subject to complying with the deadline set out in the rules.
Failure to respond within the deadline, including after the end of possible extension periods, may itself be considered a decision subject to review, and sometimes even as a de facto refusal. In such a case it is recommended to contact the body in writing to clarify the cause of the delay, and depending on the circumstances, to consider contacting the government unit for freedom of information or taking legal action.