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We get a lot of support questions about how to see exactly what MuckRock will send or has sent to an agency. This guide maps out how to view that information
As you’re composing your request, our viewer shows you exactly what we will send. Text that is set of by curly braces, like { name } indicates that the template will be filled in with a real value before you send. You can always hover over these fields to see what where that information will come from.
If you want to change anything on the template, you can find the “Edit Template Language” option under Advanced Options.
So if you want to use your full name and title to sign a request, rather than your MuckRock username, you would edit the template to replace the { name } field with the signature you want.
Once you’ve hit send on a request, we’ll get started filing it with the agency or agencies you’ve selected. We’ll file it by USPS, fax, email or through their portal, based on our past experience with the agency. You’ll always see how your correspondence was sent in the upper right hand corner.
The New tag indicates that this was the message that initiated a new request, so the status of the correspondence is “new”. Email indicates that the request was filed by email
If a request was sent by email or USPS, you can view the raw email or a PDF of the letter that was printed and set, by selecting the gear ⚙️ icon.
If a request was submitted through a portal, it will be tagged portal and you will see the exact language that was submitted on the screen.
Selecting “Show Portal Info” from the side bar will expose the login that you can use to view your request in the portal.
Note: If you want to respond to anyone or clarify your request, we ask that you use MuckRock’s follow up window, so that we can show an accurate and complete history of the request.
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