---
id: KB-TZ-011
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/traceability-and-compliance/responding-to-a-formal-request
idioma: en
categoria: trazabilidad
audiencia: usuario
nivel: avanzado
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-TZ-001, KB-TZ-007, KB-TZ-017]
citadoPor: [KB-LE-015, KB-PR-017, KB-TZ-018, KB-TZ-021]
---

# Responding to a formal request

_A court, an inspectorate or a lawyer requests documents with a deadline. What you hand over and what you do not._

**Responde a:** served with a document request · responding to an inspection deadline · what to hand over in a formal request · producing documents for proceedings

A notice arrives requesting documentation about a period or a specific relationship, usually with a short deadline. The habitual reaction — searching in a rush and sending everything that turns up — is what creates the problems that follow.

## The three expensive mistakes

| Mistake | Why it costs |
| --- | --- |
| Handing over too much | You put information nobody asked for into the proceedings |
| Handing over too little without saying so | An unexplained omission interprets itself |
| Handing over without recording what you handed over | Months later you will not know what left here |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The third is the most underestimated. Without an exact record of which files were produced and on what date, you cannot rebut a later claim about what you supplied — nor show you met the deadline.

## How to respond in an orderly way

1. **Define what is being asked, in writing** — Period, people, document type. If it is ambiguous, ask before searching.
2. **Search by identifier, not by date** — A tax ID, case number or registration finds what a date hides.
3. **Assemble it as its own file** — The response file, separate from the original, with an index.
4. **And record what was produced and when** — With the exact list. That record matters as much as the documents.

> [!WARNING]
> If what is requested contains third-party personal data outside the scope, do not simply include it: take advice first. Complying with a request does not lift your obligation to protect the data of people who are not party to it.

## What helps a great deal when it happens

**En corto**

- Sealed documents: you can prove they existed on their date.
- An access record of who saw them and when, if that is disputed.
- And a history that includes sends: sometimes what is requested is not a document but proof that something was communicated.

> [!NOTE]
> Preparing this calmly costs very little and is only appreciated under pressure. If you know a matter could end in a formal request, complete the file now: searching against a deadline is what causes over-disclosure.

**Can it be produced electronically?**

Usually accepted and it makes recording easier; follow what the notice says.

**What if we cannot find something that existed?**

Explain it, with what you do have. An explained gap is not the same as silence.

**Can I delete anything while a request is live?**

No. From that moment retention stops being your decision.

## Ejemplos

**A company receives a request covering two years of dealings with a supplier.**

- Searches by the supplier's tax ID and builds an indexed response file
- Records the exact list produced and the date

→ Meets the deadline without disclosing anything outside scope and keeps proof of what left.

**A formal request arrives with a short deadline.**

- Checks what exists before answering

→ The response is prepared knowing what you have.

**Too much is handed over just in case.**

- Selects what matches what was asked

→ No unnecessary information is provided.

**There is no record of what was handed over.**

- Records the bundle and its date

→ The handover is demonstrable afterwards.

**A document is missing and no search is on record.**

- Documents the search and its outcome

→ A proven absence has value.

**Each department submits their own part separately.**

- Centralises the response in one file

→ A coherent set is handed over.