You need DD Form 2086-1, and this page gives you the blank plus the steps for handling it. Start with what the form does: Freedom of Information (FOI) Processing Cost for Technical Data. Its official title is DD Form 2086-1, Record of Freedom of Information Processing Cost for Technical Data, July 1997.
Then look at the edition date: not stated, publisher status not stated. After that, ask whether the form covers your situation. It almost certainly does regardless of your branch — DD forms run Department-wide rather than through a single service.
Once you know the form fits, find out when you file it. not stated sets the requirement, and not stated maintains the form itself. Your own command or agency adds local timing on top of that, so ask your administrative office if the deadline matters to you.
Before you download, pick your approach — editable file or printed page. What follows covers the formats first, then the entries, then what you do afterward.
Begin at the top and move down. Enter your identifying data first, then the body of the form, then the signature block. The sequence is printed in that order because entries below frequently follow from entries above.
Check the edition before you type a word. The date appears on the face of the form; it should read not stated. When it does not, discard the file and take a fresh copy from this page. Department-level revisions replace the blank across all services simultaneously, which means an old printout can be out of step everywhere.
Look up an unclear item on the form face before anywhere else, then in not stated. Should the two texts conflict, the directive is the one you follow.
Download the form
Step one is picking the format. You have PDF to choose from, across 2 pages, with approximately 80 fields to complete.
Download the pdf first. After it opens, test a field with your cursor. Fillable means you type, tab to the next box, and save your work inside the file. Printable means the page is a flat blank, so print it and write your answers in ink.
Type when you can. Printed entries stay legible after the form is scanned, copied and forwarded, and handwriting often does not survive that trip. If you must write by hand, use block capitals and press firmly.
What the form asks for
- 1. Request number. First two digits are calendar year followed by a dash, then component's request number.
- 2. Type of request. Press space bar to mark X in first box if initial, second box if appeal.
- 3. Date completed (four digit year, two digit month, two digit day).
- Enter total clerical hours (E-9/G S -8 and below) to nearest 15 minutes. Enter total search time (time expended in locating material from files).
- Cost. (Total hours of search time multiplied by clerical hourly rate of $13.25.). Chargeable to all requesters.
- Total hours of Review/excising (time expended determining whether document must retain classification or whether some information could be excised, permitting declassification).
- Cost. (Total hours multiplied by clerical hourly rate of $13.25). Chargeable to all requesters.
- Total hours of Correspondence and forms preparation (preparation of all correspondence and forms needed to respond to the request).
- Cost. Total hours multiplied by clerical hourly rate of $13.25.
- Total hours spent on Other activity, such as duplicating, hand carrying, restoring files, et cetera).
- Cost. Total hours multiplied by clerical hourly rate of $13.25.
- Enter total hours of time at Minimum charge.
- Cost. Minimum charge hours multiplied by clerical hourly rate of $8.30.
- Enter total professional hours, to nearest 15 minutes. O-1, O-6/G S -9, G S -15. Search time.
- Cost. Total search hours multiplied by actual professional hourly rate. Chargeable to all requesters.
- Total Review/excising hours.
- Cost. Review/excising hours multiplied by actual professional hourly rate. Chargeable to all requesters.
- Total hours of Coordination/approval/denial. Time spent coordinating with other interested agencies and obtaining approval or denial.
- Cost. Total coordination hours multiplied by actual professional hourly rate.
- Total hours of Other activity.
- Cost. Total hours of Other activity multiplied by actual professional hourly rate.
- Total hours of Minimum charge time.
- Cost. Total minimum charge multiplied by one half professional hourly rate.
- Executive Hours (O-7, G M - 1 - 6, or E S 1 and above), to the nearest 15 minutes. Total hours of search time.
Submit the completed form through the channel not stated or your local guidance specifies. Save a copy for yourself before it leaves your hands, whether that means a scan, a photograph or a duplicate file.
If the form points you to another document, you can find it by number alone. DD numbering runs across the whole Department, so you do not need to work out which service issued it — one number, one form, everywhere.
Be careful when a procedure pairs this form with a service form. Read the prefix, not just the digits. Service forms answer to a service proponent, while DD forms answer to not stated or an equivalent Department office, and the two sequences were never aligned. Grabbing the wrong prefix gets you a form that has nothing to do with your task.
Do not archive this file and reuse it in a year. Forms are reissued as directives are revised, as data requirements shift, and as statutory notice text is amended. Your protection is simple: download fresh each time and confirm the edition date.
Before you go, note what is not covered here. You have the blank form and instructions for completing it; you do not have legal guidance, and no statement on this page determines what any office will do with your submission. Direct those questions to not stated, to the personnel office that serves you, or to the office designated in not stated.
Questions and answers
- What is DD Form 2086-1?
- DD Form 2086-1, Record of Freedom of Information Processing Cost for Technical Data, July 1997
- Which edition is current?
- Not stated by the publisher
- Who is responsible for this form?
- Not stated
- In which formats can it be downloaded?