How long will it take for the Ministry of Education to respond to my request?

The Ministry should respond to your request within 20 working days

Their response might be to: 

• give you the records you requested
• ask for your permission to pass on your request to another agency to complete (if the Ministry of Education does not hold the records you requested)
• tell you they need more time to respond to you (they must give a reason why they need more time)
• tell you they cannot give you the information you asked for (they must tell you the reason why). Learn more about why you might receive less information you expected. 

If you need your records urgently, tell the Ministry of Education

Tell the Ministry why your need the records urgently, for example, because you need them urgently for a court hearing. 

Whether the Ministry can complete your request faster depends on factors like:  

• the reason you give for needing the records urgently
• how much information you are requesting and  
• how easily they can find the records.