West Virginia FOIA procedures

West Virginia FOIA procedures
FOIA laws in West Virginia
Freedom of Information Act
Court cases with an impact on state FOIA
FOIA procedures by state
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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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia

Requests for public records should be made directly to the entity in possession of the records in question. For example, an individual requesting public records from the West Virginia Secretary of State must submit that request to the secretary of state's office.

Purpose and use

West Virginia law does not require a statement of purpose to request records, and it does not restrict the use of records.

Who may request public records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state

Anyone may request public records in West Virginia. According to West Virginia Code Section 29B-1-3, "Every person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body in this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by section four of this article."

West Virginia is among 42 states that do not require individuals requesting public records to be state residents.

Fees

See also: How much do public records cost?

West Virginia law allows public entities to charge a fee to cover the cost of responding to a public records request. According to §29B-1-3, "The public body may establish fees reasonably calculated to reimburse it for its actual cost in making reproductions of records. A public body may not charge a search or retrieval fee or otherwise seek reimbursement based on a man-hour basis as part of costs associated with making reproduction of records."

Response time

See also: Request response times by state

Public entities must respond to a records request within five business days. According to §29B-1-3:

“

All requests for information must state with reasonable specificity the information sought. The custodian, upon demand for records made under this statute, shall as soon as is practicable but within a maximum of five days not including Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays: (1) Furnish copies of the requested information; (2) Advise the person making the request of the time and place at which he or she may inspect and copy the materials; or (3) Deny the request stating in writing the reasons for such denial. A denial shall indicate that the responsibility of the custodian of any public records or public body to produce the requested records or documents is at an end, and shall afford the person requesting them the opportunity to institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court in the county where the public record is kept.

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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

Exemptions to the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act are outlined in §29B-1-4:

“

(a) There is a presumption of public accessibility to all public records, subject only to the following categories of information which are specifically exempt from disclosure under this article: (1) Trade secrets, as used in this section, which may include, but are not limited to, any formula, plan, pattern, process, tool, mechanism, compound, procedure, production data, or compilation of information which is not patented which is known only to certain individuals within a commercial concern who are using it to fabricate, produce, or compound an article or trade or a service or to locate minerals or other substances, having commercial value, and which gives its users an opportunity to obtain business advantage over competitors; (2) Information of a personal nature such as that kept in a personal, medical, or similar file, if the public disclosure of the information would constitute an unreasonable invasion of privacy, unless the public interest by clear and convincing evidence requires disclosure in this particular instance: Provided, That this article does not preclude an individual from inspecting or copying his or her own personal, medical, or similar file; (3) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing examination, examination for employment, or academic examination; (4)(A) Records of law-enforcement agencies that deal with the detection and investigation of crime and the internal records and notations of such law-enforcement agencies which are maintained for internal use in matters relating to law enforcement; (B) Records identifying motor vehicles used, and the agencies using them, for undercover investigation activities conducted by state law-enforcement agencies or other agencies that are authorized by this code to use undercover or unmarked vehicles; (5) Information specifically exempted from disclosure by statute; (6) Records, archives, documents, or manuscripts describing the location of undeveloped historic, prehistoric, archaeological, paleontological, and battlefield sites or constituting gifts to any public body upon which the donor has attached restrictions on usage or the handling of which could irreparably damage the record, archive, document, or manuscript; (7) Information contained in or related to examination, operating or condition reports prepared by, or on behalf of, or for the use of any agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, except those reports which are by law required to be published in newspapers; (8) Internal memoranda or letters received or prepared by any public body; (9) Records assembled, prepared, or maintained to prevent, mitigate, or respond to terrorist acts or the threat of terrorist acts, the public disclosure of which threaten the public safety or the public health; (10) Those portions of records containing specific or unique vulnerability assessments or specific or unique response plans, data, databases and inventories of goods or materials collected or assembled to respond to terrorist acts; and communication codes or deployment plans of law-enforcement or emergency response personnel; (11) Specific intelligence information and specific investigative records dealing with terrorist acts or the threat of a terrorist act shared by and between federal and international law-enforcement agencies, state and local law-enforcement, and other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security; (12) National security records classified under federal executive order and not subject to public disclosure under federal law that are shared by federal agencies and other records related to national security briefings to assist state and local government with domestic preparedness for acts of terrorism; (13) Computing, telecommunications, and network security records, passwords, security codes, or programs used to respond to or plan against acts of terrorism which may be the subject of a terrorist act; (14) Security or disaster recovery plans, risk assessments, tests, or the results of those tests; (15) Architectural or infrastructure designs, maps, or other records that show the location or layout of the facilities where computing, telecommunications, or network infrastructure used to plan against or respond to terrorism are located or planned to be located; (16) Codes for facility security systems; or codes for secure applications for facilities referred to in subdivision (15) of this subsection; (17) Specific engineering plans and descriptions of existing public utility plants and equipment; (18) Customer proprietary network information of other telecommunications carriers, equipment manufacturers and individual customers, consistent with 47 U.S.C. §222; (19) Records of the Division of Corrections, Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority and the Division of Juvenile Services relating to design of corrections, jail and detention facilities owned or operated by the agency, and the policy directives and operational procedures of personnel relating to the safe and secure management of inmates or residents, that if released, could be used by an inmate or resident to escape a facility, or to cause injury to another inmate, resident, or to facility personnel; (20) Information related to applications under §61-7-4 of this code, including applications, supporting documents, permits, renewals, or any other information that would identify an applicant for or holder of a concealed weapon permit: Provided, That information in the aggregate that does not identify any permit holder other than by county or municipality is not exempted: Provided, however, That information or other records exempted under this subdivision may be disclosed to a law-enforcement agency or officer: (i) To determine the validity of a permit, (ii) to assist in a criminal investigation or prosecution, or (iii) for other lawful law-enforcement purposes; (21) Personal information of law-enforcement officers maintained by the public body in the ordinary course of the employer-employee relationship. As used in this paragraph, “personal information” means a law-enforcement officer’s Social Security number, health information, home address, personal address, personal telephone numbers, and personal email addresses and those of his or her spouse, parents, and children as well as the names of the law-enforcement officer’s spouse, parents, and children; (22) Information provided by a person when he or she elects to remain anonymous after winning a draw game prize, pursuant to §29-22-15a of this code; and (23) Individually identifiable customer information created or maintained by a city or county or other public entity providing utility services in connection with the ownership or operation of a publicly-administered utility enterprise, including, but not limited to, customer names, addresses, and billing and usage records. Nothing contained herein is intended to limit public disclosure by a city or county of billing information: (A) That the city or county determines will be useful or necessary to assist bond counsel, bond underwriters, underwriters’ counsel, rating agencies or investors or potential investors in making informed decisions regarding bonds or other obligations incurred or to be incurred with respect to the publicly-administered utility enterprise; (B) That is necessary to assist the city, county, state, or public enterprise to maintain the integrity and quality of services it provides; or (C) That is necessary to assist law enforcement, public safety, fire protection, rescue, emergency management, or judicial officers in the performance of their duties. (b) As used in subdivisions (9) through (16), inclusive, subsection (a) of this section, the term “terrorist act” means an act that is likely to result in serious bodily injury or damage to property or the environment and is intended to: (1) Intimidate or coerce the civilian population; (2) Influence the policy of a branch or level of government by intimidation or coercion; (3) Affect the conduct of a branch or level of government by intimidation or coercion; or (4) Retaliate against a branch or level of government for a policy or conduct of the government.

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See also

• Freedom of Information Act

External links

• West Virginia Code
• West Virginia Archives and History
• Office of the WV Attorney General - The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Handbook)