Make an EIR Request (Environmental Information Regulations)

By the eLitigant Editorial Team · Reviewed for current forms, fees & procedure · How we check our guides

Free to start · no sign-up · no card. Tell Chris what has happened and see whether we can help before you pay anything. One matter · one case folder · a full day of drafting. If the drafts are not up to the standard you expected, email us within 7 days of paying for a full refund. If money is tight, Help with Fees can remove the court fee entirely, and Citizens Advice is free — we will always tell you when you do not need us.

Quick answer: The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 give a right to environmental information held by public authorities (and some private bodies with public environmental functions). Requests can even be verbal, and must be answered within 20 working days.

If your question is about the environment — planning, pollution, emissions, waste, land, water, noise — the EIR often gives broader rights than FOI, and applies to more bodies.

What is an EIR request?

A request for “environmental information” under the EIR 2004. It covers the state of the environment, factors affecting it, measures and activities, and human health/safety where affected.

Who can use it & when

Anyone, for information held by public authorities or bodies carrying out public functions relating to the environment (sometimes including certain utilities).

Deadlines & key rules

Response within 20 working days (extendable to 40 for complex/voluminous requests).
Requests can be made verbally as well as in writing (writing is safer for proof).
Exceptions are narrower than FOI and all subject to a public-interest test, with a presumption in favour of disclosure.

How to make a request — step by step

Confirm the information is “environmental” and identify the body.
Describe what you need clearly, with dates and locations.
Send it (in writing recommended) with your contact details.
If refused, request an internal review, then complain to the ICO.

How Chris helps

Tell Chris the environmental issue and Chris drafts your EIR request to a high, professional standard — you check, sign and send. Not a law firm.

See it done — an EIR request, drafted in minutes

A request under the Environmental Information Regulations, drafted to a high, professional standard — Chris builds it from your questions in minutes. Scroll the sample below.

DRAFTED BY CHRIS · sampleSCROLL ↓

Aisha Khan

To: Environmental Information Officer, Sample District Council

Request under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004

I request the following environmental information:

1. Air-quality monitoring data for the A123 corridor for 2024 to date.

2. Any reports or assessments held on traffic emissions for the proposed development at Mill Lane.

3. Correspondence between the Council and the developer regarding the environmental impact of that development.

I would prefer the information electronically and look forward to a response within 20 working days. If you intend to rely on an exception, please explain how the public interest favours withholding the information.

Illustrative sample with fictional names and details. Chris drafts yours from your own facts; you check, sign and submit.

Draft my document →

Last reviewed: June 2026 · England & Wales · CIC No. 16566612 — not a law firm.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Would you rather we drafted it for you?

Tell us what has happened and what you need. Every document is quoted case by case, on its size and the time it needs, and the price is agreed with you by email before any work starts. Nothing is charged until you say go.

Once agreed, it comes back to you within one working day (business documents usually within the hour). You read it, check every date and figure, sign it and file it: it stays your document throughout. No need to attach anything now — once we reply, you send your papers by email.

We use your details only to reply to this enquiry. eLitigant CIC is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. You remain the author of your documents.