Four requests that would settle this.

The central question on this site is whether the National Design Studio operates as an agency subject to federal disclosure law or as presidential staff. We have found no public document that answers it directly. A records request can force the government to take a position. Copy a template, send it, and tell us what comes back.

01GSASubject to FOIA · start here 02State DepartmentSubject to FOIA · high value 03Election Assistance CommissionSubject to FOIA · time-sensitive 04The Studio itselfFOIA status contested · the real test

A denial is as useful as a disclosure.

If it refuses on agency grounds

A written statement that the Studio is not subject to FOIA is the document nobody currently has. It would put the government's position on paper and commit it to the argument that the Studio functions as presidential staff, not an independent agency.

That becomes much harder to square with the operational record documented on this site.

If it responds under FOIA

Then the government has treated the Studio as subject to FOIA for the request. That would be an important piece of evidence in the larger question of whether the Studio is exercising agency authority, not simply advising the President.

It would not, by itself, settle every privacy-law question. But it would move one of the biggest questions on this site out of the hypothetical and into an actual government record.

Either way you have produced a primary document. That is why this page exists and why it is the most useful thing on this site.

Read the reasoning. Open the template when you're ready to send.

Each template is written to be sent as-is. Fill in your name and address at the bottom and it is a complete request.

GSA

GSA runs the .gov registry and Login.gov. Whatever the Studio’s status, GSA is indisputably an agency, and its communications with the Studio are agency records. This one cannot be refused on "we’re not an agency" grounds.

Template

To: GSA FOIA Officer
Re: Freedom of Information Act request: National Design Studio records

Under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, I request the following records
created or received between August 21, 2025, and the date this request is processed:

1. All communications between GSA personnel and the National Design Studio, Executive
   Office of the President, White House Office, or CISA concerning the registration,
   transfer, administration, or modification of federal .gov domains, including
   passports.gov, ndstudio.gov, and any subdomain of ndstudio.gov.

2. All communications between GSA personnel and personnel of the National Design Studio
   concerning Login.gov, including records related to changes in management, staffing,
   access, system administration, privacy, or data handling.

3. Any memorandum of understanding, interagency agreement, reimbursable agreement, or
   similar instrument between GSA and the National Design Studio or Executive Office
   of the President concerning digital services, domain administration, or Login.gov.

4. Any Privacy Impact Assessment, System of Records Notice, privacy threshold analysis,
   or other privacy review prepared by GSA concerning systems operated, developed, or
   modified by the National Design Studio.

FEE WAIVER: I request a waiver of fees under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(A)(iii). Disclosure
is in the public interest because these records concern the operations of the federal
government, including the administration of public-facing federal digital services and
identity systems, and are likely to contribute significantly to public understanding
of those operations. I have no commercial interest in these records.

FORMAT: Please provide responsive records electronically.

PARTIAL RELEASE: If any portion of a responsive record is withheld, please release
all reasonably segregable portions and identify the FOIA exemption relied upon for
each withholding.

If any portion of this request is unclear or would benefit from reasonable narrowing,
please contact me before closing or administratively denying the request.

I look forward to your determination within the time provided by 5 U.S.C.
§ 552(a)(6)(A)(i).

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Your email]

State Department

State issues passports. Passports.gov is registered to the Executive Office of the President, and State told reporters it is "working closely with the White House." This request asks what that relationship consists of, in writing.

Election Assistance Commission

The EAC said the vote.gov modernization project was paused. Eleven days later, its final three commissioners were gone and the commission lost its quorum. This request is meant to secure the record of what the commission knew while that institutional memory is still accessible.

The Studio itself

Send this one expecting a refusal. The refusal is the point. It forces a written position on whether the Studio considers itself subject to FOIA. One denial letter could become one of the most consequential documents on this site.

How to actually file one

None of this needs a lawyer. It needs about twenty minutes and a way for the agency to contact you.

Start with FOIA.gov. It will point you to the right agency and show you how that agency accepts requests. Most can be filed electronically.

Know that your request creates a record. Give the agency enough contact information to respond to you, and be aware that some agencies publish FOIA logs that may identify requesters. Check the agency's practices before filing if that matters to you.

Keep it narrow and dated. A request has to reasonably describe the records you want. The templates above specify record types and date ranges deliberately.

The clock starts at 20 business days, but the records may take longer. FOIA generally gives an agency 20 business days to make a determination on your request. That is not a promise that every responsive document will arrive within 20 days.

Appeal a denial. If an agency denies all or part of your request, it must give you a chance to appeal. Federal law requires agencies to give you at least 90 days to file that appeal.

Send us what you get. Denial letters, partial releases, referrals, or other responses can help fill gaps in the record. We can publish the document with your name removed if you prefer.

IF YOU ARE A
FEDERAL EMPLOYEE

Keep personal requests separate from your work.

If you choose to file a FOIA request as a private citizen, use your own time and follow your agency's rules for personal use of government devices, email, networks, and other resources.

Public records that may still hold answers

Some of what we are looking for may already be sitting in public databases. These require no FOIA request and no special access.

01UNCHECKED

USASpending.gov

Search federal spending tied to Executive Office of the President accounts, including obligations to design, branding, technology, and software vendors. Studio-related awards, if separately reported, may appear here.

02UNCHECKED

OMB apportionment database

OMB publishes approved apportionment documents showing how agencies are authorized to use budgetary resources. If the Studio is funded through an identifiable EOP account, these records may help trace where the money comes from.

03UNCHECKED

SAM.gov contract awards

Federal contract-level data, searchable by agency, contracting office, vendor, and other fields. This is where FPDS contract award searching now lives.

04SEARCHED · NONE FOUND

Federal Register

Search "National Design Studio" for any System of Records Notice or other filing. We found none. A second pair of eyes would be useful.

05UNCHECKED

FOIA reading rooms

Agencies publish records that have been repeatedly requested or are likely to be requested again. If someone has already asked for records about the Studio, a response may already be online.