Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
New Jersey FOIA procedures
| New Jersey FOIA procedures |
|---|
|
| FOIA laws in New Jersey |
| Freedom of Information Act |
| Court cases with an impact on state FOIA |
| FOIA procedures by state |
Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.
This article describes FOIA procedures in New Jersey as of May 2025. On this page you will find:
- How to request public records
- Who may request public records
- Fees associated with public records requests
- Required response times for requests
- Exemptions to public records requests
How to request public records in New Jersey
Records requests must be sent to the appropriate clerk. They should be directed to the public agency in possession of the records. According to the New Jersey Government Records Council's guide to the Open Public Records Act:[1]
| “ |
A request for access to a government record must be in writing and hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically, or otherwise conveyed to the appropriate custodian. N.J.S.A. 47:1A5(g). A records request under OPRA cannot be made verbally. Requests must be submitted to the public agency that maintains possession of the requested records, unless as per P.L. 2024, c.16 through remote access or as a courtesy copy. N.J.S.A. 47:1A5(i)(1). For example, a request for the City of Trenton’s FY-2018 budget would be submitted to the City of Trenton. A request for payroll records of a school business administrator would be submitted to the school district in which the administrator is employed. Please note that the GRC is not a central repository for all records made or maintained within the State of New Jersey. Thus, OPRA requests submitted to the GRC seeking records from any other public agency will be returned to the requestor. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f), requestors should use the agency’s official OPRA request form, but are permitted to submit their request via “a letter, or an email” that includes all information required on the adopted form. Id. This includes answering the certification questions related to “commercial purpose” use and whether the requestor is seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding (including case identifiers if yes). This new statutory requirement represents a significant change from the GRC’s prior position after Renna v. Cnty. of Union 407 N.J. Super. 230 (App. Div. 2009) that a written equivalent request would be considered a valid OPRA request if it clearly identified itself as an OPRA request. Requestors failing to include all form information on their written equivalent or including substantially more information than required on the form could result in the request being denied. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f). Some public agencies may not have a dedicated fax line for their records custodians and therefore choose not to accept fax requests. Some public agencies may accept requests for access to government records through an online portal or by e-mail. See Paff v. City of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2009) (holding that a custodian may limit the methods of transmission through which requestors can submit an OPRA request if those methods do not present an unreasonable obstacle to access). See also Dello Russo v. City of East Orange (Essex), GRC Complaint No. 2014-430 (Interim Order dated September 29, 2015). OPRA does not require public agencies to launch new services beyond those currently offered to accept records requests electronically. Electronically Submitted Requests Some public agencies and third parties (such as OPRAmachine) have created systems that allow a citizen to fill out an online request form and file it with the custodian over the Internet. The means of submitting a request form (mail, in-person, Internet) will not affect which records will or will not be available for access. The online request form, whether an actual form or portal, must contain all the required form information listed in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f) and (g). Requestors must be as specific as possible when requesting records. For example, requestors must identify types of records, dates or range of dates, parties to correspondence, subject matter, etc. However, requestors may not know the names of certain records. The spirit of OPRA implies that custodians assist requestors with identifying the records they are seeking, although a custodian’s failure to do so is not a violation of OPRA. Requests for information or requests that ask questions are not valid OPRA requests. For example, “[h]ow many paper clips did the Township purchase in 2016?” would not be a valid OPRA request because the requestor did not identify a specific record. [2] |
” |
Purpose and use
There is no requirement of a statement of purpose for OPRA requests. However, a requestor intending to use it for commercial purposes must disclose this information.[3]
Who may request public records?
Citizens of New Jersey may request public documents of the state. Government "records shall be readily accessible for inspection, copying, or examination by the citizens of this State."[4] The one exception is convicted criminals seeking information on victims and anonymous requestors.[5] According to section C.47:1A-2.2:[5]
| “ |
|
” |
New Jersey is among seven states that require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.
Fees
- See also: How much do public records cost?
According to Section C.47:1A-5 of New Jersey law fees for records, in general, may only include the physical cost of the means of duplication. However, when the request involves an "extraordinary expenditure of time and effort" an additional fee may be charged.[6]
| “ |
A copy or copies of a government record may be purchased by any person upon payment of the fee prescribed by law or regulation. Except as otherwise provided by law or regulation and except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the fee assessed for the duplication of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter shall be $0.05 per letter size page or smaller, and $0.07 per legal size page or larger. Access to electronic records and non-printed materials shall be provided free of charge, but the public agency may charge for the actual costs of any needed supplies such as computer discs. No fee shall be charged if the request is completed by directing the requestor to the requested government record that is available on the public agency's website or the website of another public agency. (2) No fee shall be charged to a victim of a crime for a copy or copies of a record to which the crime victim is entitled to access, as provided in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1). c. Whenever the nature, format, manner of collation, or volume of a government record embodied in the form of printed matter to be inspected, examined, or copied pursuant to this section is such that the record cannot be reproduced by ordinary document copying equipment in ordinary business size or involves an extraordinary expenditure of time and effort to accommodate the request, the public agency may charge, in addition to the actual cost of duplicating the record, a special service charge that shall be based upon the actual direct cost of providing the copy or copies, and such special service charge shall be reasonable. The custodian shall provide the requestor with an explanation for and an itemized list of the fees or charges. The requestor shall have the opportunity to review and object to any fee or charge prior to it being incurred. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the fees or charges presented by the custodian are reasonable. If the requestor objects to the fees or charges, the burden of proof shall be on the requestor to demonstrate that the fees or charges are unreasonable.[2] |
” |
Response time
- See also: Request response times by state
New Jersey law allows for up to seven days to respond to a records request and up to 14 days for a commercial records request. If the record has been archived or is in storage, an official has up to 21 days, Failure by a department to respond in the time frame is considered a denial of the request. According to Section C.47:1A-5:[6]
| “ |
Unless a shorter time period is otherwise provided by statute, regulation, or executive order, a custodian of a government record shall grant access to a government record or deny a request for access to a government record as soon as possible, but not later than seven business days after receiving the request, or 14 business days if the request is for a commercial purpose or if the records have to be reviewed by the public agency for the purpose of the agency's compliance with P.L.2021, c.371 (C.47:1B-1 et seq.), but the custodian shall notify the requestor of the additional response time within seven business days, provided that the record is currently available and not in storage or archived. The response time periods of seven or 14 business days, as established in this subsection, shall be an additional seven business days longer if the public agency is a fire district which employs one or fewer full-time employees who serve as custodians. If a commercial requestor would like to receive the record within seven business days, as established in this subsection, the custodian shall provide the requestor with a copy of the record and may charge a special service fee not exceeding two times the cost of the production of the record. In the event a records custodian is unable to fulfill a records request due to unforeseen circumstances or circumstances that otherwise reasonably necessitate additional time to fulfill the records request, the custodian shall be entitled to a reasonable extension of any response deadline and shall notify the requestor of the time extension within seven business days after receiving the request. In the event a custodian fails to respond within seven business days or 14 business days, as appropriate, after receiving a request, the failure to respond shall be deemed a denial of the request, unless the requestor has elected not to accurately identify themselves or to provide an accurate address, email address, or telephone number. If the requestor has elected not to accurately identify themselves or to provide an accurate address, email address, or telephone number, the custodian shall not be required to respond until the requestor contacts the custodian seeking a response to the original request. If the government record is in storage or archived, the requestor shall be so advised within seven or 14 business days, as appropriate, after the custodian receives the request. The requestor shall be advised by the custodian when the record can be made available, which shall be no more than 21 business days from the date the requestor is so advised. If the record is not made available by that time, access shall be deemed denied.[2] |
” |
As of May 2025, 11 states had no mandated response time. Of the 39 states with response time limits, 12 allow agencies to extend response times in certain cases, while 27 allow no exceptions. Eight states required responses in three days or fewer, 11 in five days or fewer, 13 in 10 days or fewer, and seven in 20 days or fewer.
Exemptions
The New Jersey Open Public Records Act provides a number of exemptions for information deemed confidential or otherwise unsuitable for public access. Information regarding exemptions can be found here.
See also
External links
- 2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes
- Website of the Government Records Council
- Open Government Guide to New Jersey
- OPRA Exemptions
Footnotes
- ↑ New Jersey Government Records Council, "A Citizen's Guide to the Open Public Records Act," accessed May 12, 2025 (pages 17-18)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ New Jersey Government Records Council, "A Citizen's Guide to the Open Public Records Act," accessed May 12, 2025 (page 33)
- ↑ Justia, "2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes," accessed May 12, 2025 (Sec. C.47:1A-1)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Justia, "2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes," accessed May 12, 2025 (Sec. C.47:1A-2.2)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Justia, "2024 New Jersey Revised Statutes," accessed May 12, 2025 (Sec. C.47:1A-5)
| ||||||||
