Law Enforcement Request Guidelines.
How we evaluate requests involving sensitive client information.
Effective date: October 24, 2026
These guidelines explain how Matchmake Chicago ("we," "us," or "our") evaluates lawful requests for information about clients and applicants. They describe the process we generally follow and reflect the highly personal nature of information entrusted to a private matchmaking service.
Where to send legal process
For inquiries about the delivery of subpoenas, court orders, warrants, preservation requests, or other legal process, contact Matchmake Chicago through our contact page and identify the inquiry as a Legal Request. Please do not put confidential records or sensitive legal documents into the general matchmaking inquiry form; we can provide instructions for appropriate delivery.
Contacting us online does not itself constitute legally effective service of process where formal service is required by law. We do not guarantee around-the-clock monitoring or immediate review of messages.
What we require
We disclose client information only when we are legally required to, or where an exception below applies. We do not release information on an informal or voluntary basis simply because it has been asked for.
- Basic client records — such as name, contact details, and the dates and nature of a client engagement — require a valid subpoena, court order, or other binding legal process.
- Detailed records — including intake notes, correspondence, preferences, matchmaking notes, and information concerning others — are considered especially sensitive. We require legal process sufficient under applicable law, such as a court order or warrant when required, and review such requests carefully.
- Payment records are held by our payment processor. Requests for card or transaction data should be directed to that processor; we will say so rather than produce records we do not control.
Every request must identify the requesting agency and officer, provide a direct return contact, describe the specific records sought with reasonable particularity, and identify the individual concerned with enough precision for us to locate the correct record. We do not respond to broad or exploratory requests.
Emergency requests
When we receive a good-faith request describing an emergency involving an imminent risk of death or serious physical injury, we may disclose only the information reasonably necessary to address that emergency, as permitted by law. Please mark such requests "EMERGENCY DISCLOSURE REQUEST" and describe the circumstances, the risk, and the information needed.
If you are responding to an in-progress emergency, contact 911 first. Email is not monitored continuously and should not be relied on for immediate response.
Preservation requests
When we receive an appropriately documented preservation request, we take reasonable steps to preserve existing records relating to the identified individual where required or permitted by law. Requests should state their scope and the requested preservation period. Preservation is not itself disclosure of information.
Notice to our clients
Discretion is central to what we do. Our policy is to notify a client before disclosing their information in response to legal process, so they have an opportunity to object, unless we are legally prohibited from doing so, are subject to a valid non-disclosure or sealing order, or have a good-faith belief that notice would create a risk of harm to an identifiable person, of destruction of evidence, or of obstruction of an investigation.
How we respond
We review requests for legal validity, scope, and proportionality, and may seek to narrow or challenge overbroad or defective process. We disclose only information within the lawful scope of the request. Processing times depend on the circumstances, any applicable legal deadline, and the information requested.
We may seek reimbursement of reasonable costs of retrieval and production where the law permits.
Records we hold
We are a small private matchmaking service, not an online platform. We do not operate a messaging system, host user-generated profiles, or retain communications between clients, because no such system exists. We hold intake information, matchmaker notes, and correspondence with clients, retained as described in our Privacy Policy. Records that have been deleted in the ordinary course before a preservation request or legal process is received cannot be produced.
Requests from outside the United States
Matchmake Chicago operates in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Requests from authorities outside the United States should use an applicable treaty, letters rogatory, or other recognized legal process where required.
Nothing here is a waiver
These guidelines are provided for information. They are not a submission to any jurisdiction, not legal advice, and not a waiver of any objection, privilege, or right available to us or to our clients. We may update them at any time; the effective date above reflects the current version.
Contact
For questions about these guidelines or to request legal-process delivery instructions, please use the Matchmake Chicago contact page.