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The Open Public Records Act gives certain responsibilities to the custodian of government records at a public agency. This Records Note summarizes those responsibilities. Detailed information on the responsibilities of custodians can be found in the Custodian's Handbook published by the GRC.
Preparing for Requests
Public agencies should designate a custodian(s) of government records, and if necessary sub-custodians to process request for public records. Each custodian must adopt a form for use by any person requesting access to records. The forms should be made readily available to the public by the agency. Agencies with web sites are urged to post a downloadable or printable form on their site.
The custodian should be familiar with the fee schedule established by OPRA and ensure that their agency adopts a fee schedule in compliance with it. A special service charge may be imposed to cover actual copying costs if responding to a request will take an extraordinary amount of time and effort.
Handling a Record Request
Custodians should take the following actions when a request is received:
- Have the requester complete an OPRA request for access to a government record form adopted by the custodian. Anonymous requests are permitted under OPRA as long as personal information is not being sought.
- Respond to a records request by granting access or denying the request no later than seven business days after the request is received.
- If the government record is in storage, advise the requester within the seven business days after receiving the request when the record will be made available. If the record cannot be produced in a reasonable period of time, the request can be considered denied by the requester, prompting the filing of a complaint with the GRC or a court.
- Redact from the record any information that discloses social security, unlisted phone numbers (assume one is listed unless otherwise provided), credit card and driver license numbers. The release of Executive Order #26 eliminated the initial restrictions on releasing home address and phone numbers.
Immediate access must be granted to budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts, employment contracts and public employee salary/overtime information that are ordinarily maintained by the custodian. "Immediate" means just that, not "come back later."
What Must Be Provided to the Public
A custodian must post prominently in public view in the part of offices frequented by the public a statement that sets forth in clear, concise and specific terms the right to appeal a denial of, or failure to provide, access to a government record for inspection, examination or copying. A poster (PDF) for this purpose is available on the GRC website. When access to a record is denied, the custodian must also provide the requester a copy of a pamphlet (PDF) that describes the record request and appeal of denial process. This is also available from the Council web site.
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