Public records requests

How records requests work

The public records officer does one or more of the following within 5 business days of receiving a request:

• Makes the records available to the requestor for inspection or copying
• Sends copies to the requestor
• Sends payment terms if requested

If copies are not immediately available, the officer will do the following:

• Provide the requestor a reasonable estimate of when the records will be available
• Ask for clarification from the requestor if the request is unclear or it doesn't identify specific records

Requesters may provide clarification by telephone. In such cases, the public records officer will produce a written record of the clarification. Based on the clarification, the public records officer may revise the estimate of when records will be available.

If the requestor fails to clarify their request, the agency may choose not to respond further

A department may deny the request and notify the requestor of the denial. It will include a written statement of the specific reasons for the denial

All records are released if they don't fall within the Public Records Act's specific exemptions or statutes that exempt or prohibit the disclosure of detailed information or documents.

Possible bases for exemption may be found in chapter 42.56 RCW at https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56. The Public Records Officer will describe why each withheld record or redacted part of a record is exempt from disclosure.