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Public records

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Sunshine Laws
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Sorted by State, Year and Topic
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Deliberative Process Exemption

Public records refers to information that has been filed or recorded by public agencies, such as corporate and property records. Public records are created by the federal and local government, (vital records, immigration records, real estate records, driving records, criminal records, etc.) or by the individual. Public records can also be considered any mail or communication between state agencies and those in the legislature. Other sets of commonly demanded public records are those relating to financial documents for government programs. Availability is determined by federal, state, and local regulations.

Public records are held in physical files. Many public records are available via Internet or other sources; even though public records are indeed public, their accessibility is not always simple, free or easy. Some states such as California have separate policies that govern the availability of information contained in public records. The PRA or public records act states that "except for certain explicit exceptions, personal information maintained about an individual may not be disclosed without the person's consent."

Public records in the United States

Access to public records in the US at the federal level is guided by the Freedom of Information Act (United States) (FOIA). Each state has its own version of FOIA. For example, in Colorado there is the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) and in New Jersey the law is known as the New Jersey Open Public Records Act. There are many degrees of accessibility to public records between states, with some making it fairly easy to request and receive documents, and others with many exemptions and restricted categories of documents.

Public records request procedures by state

See also

External links