California Public Records Act:
How to Request Access to Information

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Return to main menuQ: What are some Dos and Don'ts in requesting access to records under the CPRA?Q: What would a good request letter look like?

 

Q: What are some Dos and Don'ts in requesting access to records under the CPRA?

A: Given the variety of information requesters, types of information, reasons for requesting, public agencies involved and public officials reacting to the requests, there is no ideal or guaranteed optimum way to assert one's rights under the CPRA. But the experience of many people in many situations suggests the following general points.

Do remember that the Act deals with access to records, not to information in the abstract.

Don't assume that the Act compels public agencies to "tell" you things in the literal sense of conveying the information orally.

Do therefore consider some preliminary research to ascertain which records contain the information you want.For California state and local agencies, a unique resource for this effort is Paper Trails, a guide developed by the Center for Investigative Reporting and co-published with the California Newspaper Publishers Association. This well-indexed booklet by Barbara Newcombe lists the most general types of records maintained by each agency and department, what they are called, where they are kept and what information they hold. Another valuable guide in this category is Don Ray's A Public Records Primer and Investigative Handbook.If these guides are unavailable or do not reach the information you need, find a librarian type in the agency you believe holds the information -- a person who knows what's available and likes helping people understand. Tell this person something like: "I'm trying to find out what office deals with widget monitoring and who's the best informed person on that area." Keep asking this kind of question enough, and the people who really don't know or don't want to be bothered will eventually put you in touch with someone more ready, willing and able to help. If this approach doesn't lead to the right person, try picking the brains of a (reasonably recent) former employee or an outsider who deals with that office regularly. When you deal with any of these people, try to determine the record types that contain what you want, what they are called, and what division, department or office has them.

Don't, in conducting this preliminary research, let the process get hung up or stalled when someone says "That's internal only" or "We don't give that out to the public." Make it clear that although it may turn out that you can't get the information, you still need to satisfy yourself (or your editor) as to whether the information exists and if so, what it's called and where it's kept.

Don't, if you're a journalist, expect to get this kind of personal help on deadline, over the phone, at least every time. If you expect to be covering a beat regularly, develop a relationship with these kinds of people at the earliest opportunity.

Do tailor the style of your request to what your preliminary inquiries have disclosed. If you find out that what you want is the Widget Monitoring Log and that the person you end up talking to is in charge of it and gets (and fulfills) frequent requests for it, just ask at that point. Just asking -- informally, orally and at the first opportunity once you know what to ask for -- is always the preferred approach.

Don't submit a written request without good reason. Doing so transforms you from a living customer on the phone or at the counter into a piece of paper that will soon have other pieces of paper on top of it. Good reasons for making a written request would include, for example, getting an initial refusal to your oral request or having a substantial list of documents that you know will take some time to assemble in any case.

Do ask to see (or hear, in the case of tape recordings) the records you are interested in first, then ask for copies of only those documents you really need to take away. This won't work if you can't visit the place where the records are kept, but if you can -- unless you know that the record is exactly what you want -- it's best to inspect on-site and make your copy order, if any, based on what you find.

Don't ask for copies of records -- especially a lot of records -- that are entirely unfamiliar to you. You could end up paying substantial fees and mailing costs for reams of paper that turn out to be irrelevant to your purpose.

Do request a sampling or a short selection of records that may be part of a longer-period request, if you believe the request may result in a sizeable search or production burden. For example, although you may be interested in Widget Monitoring over the past five years, if the logs are created daily or weekly you may want to get a feel for what they show by asking for the most recent one or two months. If they turn out to be exactly the pay dirt you had hoped, you now know it without having to wait for weeks longer while five years' worth of files are combed.

Don't ask for years of records unless you're sure they have what you really need, and if it will be necessary to redact certain information from them, consider negotiating a phased production schedule rather than waiting for weeks (or months) for anything until the agency has reviewed and redacted the last document.

Do be alert to the possibility that a record you get may name or otherwise indicate other relevant records which you have not yet asked for or even thought of, and accordingly consider any records request as potentially the first in a series, each of which will progressively lead to more useful information.

Don't assume you need to get all you will ever want with the first request, and don't say or do anything that will needlessly burn your bridges for further cooperation.

Do be ready for those rare situations when you have been allowed to see a document but then have trouble getting a copy. Some requesters have been told that, on an earlier visit, they were mistakenly allowed to see a record, which has now been withdrawn from "the public file" upon their return to the office, and is not available for further inspection or copying. Others have had experiences leading them to believe that the record they initially saw (or were told about) has since been destroyed.Once a document has been inspected by any member of the public, it ordinarily cannot be withheld from either inspection or copying under the Act. Destroying a public record, especially in these circumstances, could be prosecuted as a felony. But in the meantime the requester may have trouble proving that the record was shown to him or her, or indeed that it ever existed. The only way to protect against this illegal treatment is somehow to record the document the first time it is shown -- using a camera, a portable copier, fax machine in copy mode, or scanner -- or by reading its contents into a tape recorder.

Don't announce these methods, if you must use them, as measures taken because you do not trust the officials you are dealing with. If any explanation is required (and it need not be if you are reasonably discreet), simply note that it will save everyone time, effort and money if you can record the information immediately using your own resources.

Do use any written request you make as an occasion to let the agency know you understand your rights and its obligations under the Public Records Act. There is no particular form or language required, but some approches work better than others.

 

Q: What would a good CPRA request letter look like?

A: Here is one sample to tailor to your specifics:DateName and Title (of the official with custody of the records)

Name of Agency
AddressRE:

Public Records Act Request

Dear ________________,

Pursuant to my rights under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), I ask to [inspect/obtain a copy of] the following, which I understand to be held by your agency:[Describe the record as precisely as possible, including the designation of any forms or reports with titles, the date or dates if relevant, the author and addressee if the item is a letter or memo, etc. If the record is referred to in another document or published report and it will help to attach a copy of that reference, do so.]I ask for a determination on this request within 10 days of your receipt of it, and an even prompter reply if you can make that determination without having to review the record[s] in question.[Use the following if applicable:]I would not ordinarily trouble you with this written request, but when I first made it informally I was told by ___________ that your agency considers the information to be exempt from disclosure because _______________________.

I respectfully suggest that this position, if I understand it correctly, is inconsistent with the Act as it has been interpreted in the following [authority/authorities] [cite case or Attorney General's opinion].If you determine that any or all or the information qualifies for an exemption from disclosure, I ask you to note whether, as is normally the case under the Act, the exemption is discretionary, and if so whether it is necessary in this case to exercise your discretion to withhold the information.

If you determine that some but not all of the information is exempt from disclosure and that you intend to withhold it, I ask that you redact it for the time being and make the rest available as requested.In any event, please provide a signed notification citing the legal authorities on which you rely if you determine that any or all of the information is exempt and will not be disclosed.If I can provide any clarification that will help expedite your attention to my request, please contact me at [provide phone or fax number, pager number, etc.].[Use the following as applicable:]I am sending a copy of this letter to your legal advisor to help encourage a speedy determination, and I would likewise be happy to discuss my request with [him/her] at any time.Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

 

Sincerely,s/_______________________