The objective of this paper is to examine the role of civil society in both promoting and securing access to information (ATI) legislation and assisting in its implementation. The focus of the paper is to understand the background to campaigns for access to information in five countries, Bulgaria, India, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kindgom. In each, the paper seeks to understand the role that civil society played in conjunction with other social actors. The paper looks at the interaction between civil society and public officials, which is an important dynamic in the passage of any legislation. The paper also considers the various roles played by civil society groups in helping with the implementation after the passing of the law. This paper represents an attempt to examine these observations. There are issues that can be explored further and many more lessons to draw from these cases. This paper aims to contribute to a broader debate on the role of civil society as it relates to this essential right to information.