How quickly do government institutions reply your email?
Posted by n0sugacoat@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 75 comments
Not automated replies of course, but rather humans (or nowadays...really good ai).
ACam574@reddit
Getting any reply from the federal government is rare.
Ricelyfe@reddit
i work for my state. If you email me directly probably within the next business day. If you email one of our general inboxes probably within a week, most likely 1-2 days. Our unit is small (~30 ppl across two offices) and our role is niche. That said, we deal with a lot of liens and collection companies (one in particular used to spam our phones). In my last role I had to answer the main line and there were days they would call none stop and spend 10-15 mins on the phone each time getting more/less the same info.
VerifiedMother@reddit
It depends, I do some contracting for a university locally and I sent an email and I got a reply in like 2 minutes, I've sent email that never got responded to as well
Beautiful-Report58@reddit
Oh, boy this will vary greatly depending on who you are contacting. A local government representative within 24 hours. The President likely never.
Mrfrunzi@reddit
I wrote a letter to Bush for high school. It was not as nice of a letter than the automated response I received.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
The president will often get back to you but it’ll be an intern with a canned response not the president themself.
My sister interned in the mail office at the whitehouse and she sent many canned responses.
RevolutionaryRow1208@reddit
Depends on the institution, depends on the person the email was directed to, depends on the question, depends on how busy things are and what kind of priority is put on whatever the email question is.
ALoungerAtTheClubs@reddit
That's going to depend entirely on the institution in question.
IceePirate1@reddit
Accurate, I run a program in my city and I'm effectively the only person who can respond to the specific requests. So usually, about a day for email, or maybe a bit longer if I'm on vacation/sick
OhThrowed@reddit
Hell, it'll depend on what individual human looks at the email. Bob might be fast while Joe is slow.
Ecks54@reddit
That's not what she said!
gdubh@reddit
And the question being questioned.
Positive-Avocado-881@reddit
And location! The town clerk where I grew up responds within the hour, but I would never be able to get through to someone where I live now for a similar inquiry
JacenVane@reddit
And also on your email. Like some stuff may literally be five minutes, other stuff might legitimately take weeks to get the answers to.
No-Lunch4249@reddit
I emailed my state senator's office a complaint about a position he had on a bill that was proposed and the man himself replied to me in under a week, maybe 3 days
Foxy_locksy1704@reddit
I emailed my city counsel person to express my thoughts about possible major changes to the roads in my neighborhood, I was pleasantly surprised when I received an email from him and even more surprised that he requested a phone call between us because he also opposed the changes and wanted feedback from those that it would directly impact.
ATLien_3000@reddit
I've never had a local government official turn down a request to get a cup of coffee to discuss issues/concerns of the day.
That's folks elected by constituencies/localities as big as 200k. And almost exclusively part time roles.
If you come across as normal (even if they know you disagree), any smart politician will want to hear your perspective.
ITrCool@reddit
I’m often skeptical it’s the actual politician replying when I get human responses.
Likely it’s actually a secretary/assistant writing up and managing the inbox on their behalf, responding in templated form. If it’s not AI.
No-Lunch4249@reddit
Nah this was definitely the dude himself, because he was a complete fucking asshole in his reply lol. No way an assistant/secretary would have been so unprofessional haha
n0sugacoat@reddit (OP)
Name and praise!
MuchDevelopment7084@reddit
Up until recently. Usually within twenty four hours. Illinois still does. Fed office...whenever.
_daGarim_2@reddit
At least here in Massachusetts, if that organization is the social security administration, or the department of transitional assistance, they will never respond to your email, or return your call. You have to keep trying them until you get a real person (which often involves waiting on hold for an hour multiple times, only to be disconnected, or go in to the office in person.
Source: social worker.
PhysicsEagle@reddit
I once emailed my senator concerning a presidential appointee and expressed my concern about confirming them. The [office of the] senator got back to me…after the appointee withdrew their name from consideration
yozaner1324@reddit
I don't think I've ever emailed a government institution. Most things are either fully online where you don't need to involve a human, or they're in person and you have to go into an office. On occasion you may call someone, but I don't know what I'd be emailing someone for.
Trinx_@reddit
Illinois department of natural resources got back to me next day - on a Saturday no less, regarding bringing a hognose with me on my move. I needed a license and it was super fast and easy. I think that was just their reptile guy being super responsive though
Hoosier_Jedi@reddit
Took six months to hear back from the Florida Department of Education once. They eventually managed to shorten it to two weeks.
UCFknight2016@reddit
I once applied for a job at a three letter government agency and got a reply four hours later for an interview.
Possible-Okra7527@reddit
Sometimes, never. Really depends on the government department, level, and who you're trying to reach.
State government, depending on the agency and how large the state is, probably like a month or two, if ever.
Local, again depending on size, maybe a week or two.
Federal, probably never.
androidbear04@reddit
Hee hee hee, I work for one so some of them are pretty primpt...
Arcaeca2@reddit
Entirely depends on the institution.
They're not all super slow. I've gotten a response to an email I sent to the Utah Driver's License Division in 2 hours. But I assume most institutions are not that fast.
Temporary_Linguist@reddit
Mostly they don't reply unless you have an issue that is likely to be a problem for them.
And then it can be months of waiting to receive a reply.
EloquentRacer92@reddit
The Oregon school report card lady took a few days to respond. By then their website maintenance was done.
FivebyFive@reddit
Totally depends on the institution.
E.g if you call the state department, a human actually answers and pretty quickly.
Your local post office? You probably won't hear back.
cdb03b@reddit
Depends.
Local government like the city offices or county clerk will typically respond in a day or two. State and Federal will have initial responses within a week or so but can have more detailed responses take a month or so. And specific institutions will have more or less of a backlog than others. Things like the VA will often be slower than the general response from say contacting your Senator.
_Hickory@reddit
It will take time.
How much? As others have pointed out, it depends on a LOT of factors: which level of government (federal, state, local?), what department and what they actually handle, what is the content of the email, who gets your email, and is there a holiday around the time you send the email (which then also brings up if it's a federal, state, local, or personally requested holiday).
Kgb_Officer@reddit
Anywhere between same-day and a month or two later. Somewhere in that range depending on, which institution, where you are, what the email is about, who read the email, and what time of the year it is.
Academic_Profile5930@reddit
Local government is usually personal, very timely, and super responsive. Federal - If you write your representative, there's usually some response but just some canned pr thing which does not address your email and puts you on your senator's newsletter along with future requests for donations. Sending in a request for something like a passport generally takes a few weeks. State - somewhere in between.
tomveiltomveil@reddit
I do constituent outreach for a city government. Even within a single city, the range is anywhere from "a couple minutes" to "never."
Usagi_Shinobi@reddit
Between one hour and 27 months.
QuarterMaestro@reddit
I don't think I've ever been in a situation where I've needed to email a government agency. It would likely be a better idea to show up in person if there is a local office (e.g. Social Security Administration) or just call their main "customer service" phone number.
MangaMaven@reddit
I get a copy-paste “your-communication-has-been-received” email from my senator the same day.
My mom once receive a response from the state of Virginia over a decade after she wrote her letter.
Meattyloaf@reddit
Depends on what institution and who youre emailing. I emailed my senator and it took a few weeks before I heard anything back. It was an email tellingnem to essentially go fuck myself for suggesting they uphold the constitution and stop spending tax payer money on frivolous investigations, but I did here back.
Imaginary_Train_8056@reddit
I work in Missouri and often need to ask questions of Medicaid provider education. Last year, I’d get a response in 2-3 days. This years, it’s been closer to a month, if ever.
ComprehensiveCoat627@reddit
It varies between less than an hour to never. What government institution specifically are you wondering about?
GoCardinal07@reddit
It varies wildly by the institution and sometimes even the topic. I'll give one example of the latter below.
I once worked for a State Senator, and we received 20,000 emails on the same topic. I sent out two mass "customized" emails from the Senator using mail merge (one was for people supporting a piece of legislation and one was for people opposing that same piece of legislation). Because we were writing to so many people, half of whom would be angry, we had to carefully craft the response explaining the Senator's response - the communications director, legislative director, chief of staff, and Senator all had edits and had to each approve the language. Once that was done, I replied to all 20,000 emails at one time, so the people who emailed first got a response after several weeks while the people who emailed last got a response in about 18 hours.
GoCardinal07@reddit
It varies wildly by the institution and sometimes even the topic. I'll give one example of the latter below.
I once worked for a State Senator, and we received 20,000 emails on the same topic. I sent out two mass "customized" emails from the Senator using mail merge (one was for people supporting a piece of legislation and one was for people opposing that same piece of legislation). Because we were writing to so many people, half of whom would be angry, we had to carefully craft the response explaining the Senator's response - the communications director, legislative director, chief of staff, and Senator all had edits and had to each approve the language. Once thst was done, I replied to all 20,000 emails at one time, so the people who emailed first got a response after several weeks while the people who emailed last got a response in about 18 hours.
europanative@reddit
Government institutions reply to emails?
HermioneMarch@reddit
Automated emails very quickly, but actual thoughtful response that shows the person read or heard my complaints is very rare.
Danibear285@reddit
Depends. My mayor? The parks department? The Department of the Interior? The Federal Bureau of Investigation? Can be from hours to days
boostreak@reddit
I'm off Friday and Saturday but I check and reply when I'm at work. And my i have someone who does that when I'm out. For example today is my bday so I'm at home relaxing.
n0sugacoat@reddit (OP)
Happy birthday!
1PumpkinKiing@reddit
Hahahaha good luck!
You're better off calling in and waiting on hold for 30 minutes to a day
Fire_Mission@reddit
Which government institution? The local city utility department or the IRS?
NorwegianSteam@reddit
Never emailed them. Called the ATF Providence field office on a Saturday morning one, got a call back 2 minutes later. Admittedly, this was not a call for a random reason.
verminiusrex@reddit
Depends on the department and what you are asking.
When I discovered a $10k undisclosed lien on the house we purchased due to city code violations from a couple years ago, the code enforcement department was great at getting back to me figuring out and resolving the issue. The back and forth was usually within 1-2 business days.
When I wanted to know if I could get volunteers to reinforce an interesting bit of local history that had washed up on a beach man years ago and is covered in graffiti, it took a couple emails to get to the right department and then get the answer "we'd prefer you didn't because it's over 50 years old and considered an artifact" which was a very polite no. That back and forth took a couple weeks.
imcomingelizabeth@reddit
I live in Louisiana. The Secretary of State has never responded. Senators respond within 1-3 months with a generic response. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has never responded - yes, I am a constituent.
eyetracker@reddit
I've only done this once. One Senator responded with a form letter but seemed to genuinely acknowledge my concerns even though I doubt she would vote differently. The other didn't respond at all but months later thanked me for signing up for a mailing list. I'll let you guess which is which.
Justmakethemoney@reddit
I work in state government, and we endeavor to answer all legitimate emails the same business day (assuming you don’t send it like 10 minutes before we close).
If we don’t reply it’s because you sent us some screed that looks like something from a sovereign citizen or someone who needs psychiatric treatment.
neomoritate@reddit
It varies between the same day, and never.
Hikinghawk@reddit
Ill speak from the other side as a goverment employee. I work for the NPS and if someone emails the general park email, I typically reply within one to three days if it's just a simple question. (quickest was 2 minutes because the email came in as I was wrapping up). If it's something more complex, needing to be forwarded to someone else, or something we need to mail, you'll be looking at about one to two weeks.
shelwood46@reddit
If AI counts, then government (federal? state? county? city? township?) have had automated forms that go back almost immediately and have since computers existed (and are probably smarter than AI because the form letters were written by humans). How long to actually get your problem dealt with and/or solved? Absolutely depends. On the level of government, on the department, on the problem, on the people who have to deal with it. And just like prayers, sometimes the answer is no. Also I hope to they do not turn anything over to idiot suicide machines, that would be a disaster, most government inquiries are real people with real problems. Commercial AI bots suck so much, there will be so many shootings if government emulates that uselessness.
YoshiandAims@reddit
24 hours, 3-5 business days, a month, within 3-6 months... depending on who you contact and what you need.
AnotherPint@reddit
When I write to my alderman here in Chicago I get a response, sometimes even a phone call, in minutes.
When I write to my US Senator I get a canned, impersonal reply within a couple of weeks.
When I wrote to the Internal Revenue Service with a business tax question the reply took 18 months.
Sad-Umpire6000@reddit
I emailed our state representative about an environmental issue and never got any response. I figure it’s because I am not registered in his party, and my concern was opposite to his action/inaction on the issue.
On the other hand, we ran into a permit issue with the county when putting up a storage building on our rural property (licensed contractors don’t put up buildings that size without permits). The problem was essentially an interpretation of the regulations. I called the county commissioner’s office for our district, and got a call back from her the next day. She had it resolved in nine days. I am not politically active beyond quietly voting, and don’t make campaign donations. I believe that she is one of those who remembers why she’s in office.
bwurtz94@reddit
Never
sneezhousing@reddit
Depends on which one city, county, state ,or federal
Some are horrible about getting back some one to two business days
visitor987@reddit
A month or two sometimes never
Prestigious-Name-323@reddit
Which agency? Which politician? I hate both my senators but one of them is infinitely better at responding than the other. My local library is going to respond much faster than something like the IRS.
annang@reddit
Sometimes in under a minute, sometimes never.
BlackQuartzSphinx_@reddit
That's gonna depend. My senators and representative usually take about a week, but it's always some generic BS an intern probably got stuck with.
My state senator and state representatives, the ones who go to Helena, have never replied 😒
Sabertooth767@reddit
Sometime between a business day and never, depending on how much they have to care about your satisfaction. Municipal and county officials will probably be fairly quick. A Senator? Almost definitely never. State officials and your Representative, somewhere in between.
runz_with_waves@reddit
The niche agencies I interact with are pretty good, maybe a day or two. U.S.C.G. Documentation Center is a decent example, and their turn around time is about two days.
ATLien_3000@reddit
Government institutions aren't monoliths.
It depends on who you emailed, why you emailed, whether your email is from a normal person with normal expectations or someone with an apparent mental illness.
Etc etc etc.
saginator5000@reddit
There's like a kajillion different government institutions from the local library up to the feds. There is no consistent answer.
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