OPRA provides that certain government records are not available for public inspection or copying. This includes those portions of records that contain personal information such as driver's license, credit card, social security number, phone numbers and home addresses, records pertaining to security and criminal investigations, and other items authorized by law. If a record that is accessible to the public contains such information, that portion of the record will be redacted (blacked out or obscured from view).

If a requester is denied access to a government record, the custodian must provide the requester with the reason(s) for denial and written notice of the requester's rights to appeal the denial.