Frequent Questions

What is the Open Public Records Act (OPRA)?

OPRA is a New Jersey statute that governs the public's access to government records in New Jersey. The law is compiled in the statutes as N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.

Specifically, OPRA is intended to:

Expand the public's right of access to government records;
Create an administrative appeals process if access is denied; and
Define what records are and are not "government records."

When is OPRA Used?

OPRA is used when the requestor wants to gain access to government records and wants to invoke the OPRA statute, which provides a statutory right of access to government records and holds a records custodian to a response deadline.

What does this mean? The requestor must choose to submit an OPRA request. Custodians do not decide when requestor must use OPRA and cannot force requestors to submit an OPRA request.

Are there other ways to request access to government records besides OPRA?

Yes. OPRA does not affect a requestor's common law right of access, or right of access via discovery.
If a requestor seeks government records under the common law, please consider the following:
A public record under the common law is one required by law to be kept, or necessary to be kept in the discharge of a duty imposed by law, or directed by law to serve as a memorial and evidence of something written, said, or done, or a written memorial made by a public officer authorized to perform that function, or a writing filed in a public office. The elements essential to constitute a public record are that it be a written memorial, that it be made by a public officer, and that the officer be authorized by law to make it.
If the information requested is a "public record" under common law and the requestor has a legally recognized interest in the subject matter contained in the material, then the material must be disclosed if the individual's right of access outweighs the State's interest in preventing disclosure.
Note that any challenge to a denial of a request for records under the common law cannot be made to the Government Records Council, as the Government Records Council only has jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to denials of OPRA requests. A challenge to the denial of access under the common law can be made by filing an action in Superior Court. Additionally, the GRC cannot provide any guidance on how to submit a request under the common law.
Discovery requests may also be served upon a public agency for access to government records pursuant to N.J. Court Rules, 1969 R. 3:13-3 (2005) and N.J. Court Rules, 1969 R. 7:7-7 (2005). Please note that requests for discovery do not affect a requestor's right to request the same records under OPRA.
Note that any challenge to a denial of a request for records pursuant to a discovery request cannot be made to the Government Records Council, as the Government Records Council only has jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to denials of OPRA requests. A challenge to the denial of access pursuant to a discovery request can be made by filing an action in Superior Court. Additionally, the GRC cannot provide any guidance on how to submit a request through discovery.

Who may file an OPRA request?

Anyone! Although OPRA specifically references "citizens of this State," the Attorney General's Office advises that OPRA does not prohibit access to residents of other states.

What is an OPRA Request?

An official OPRA request is a request for government records submitted to a public agency either: on an official OPRA request form; or an otherwise written request that clearly references OPRA. If a written request does not mention OPRA anywhere, it is not an OPRA request. Verbal requests are never OPRA requests.

What is a "government record?"

OPRA specifically defines a government record as:

"... any paper, written or printed book, document, drawing, map, plan, photograph, microfilm, data processed or image processed document, information stored or maintained electronically or by sound-recording or in a similar device, or any copy thereof, that has been made, maintained or kept on file ... or that has been received in the course of his or its official business ..." (Emphasis added.) N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1.
Generally stated, a "government record" means any record that has been made, maintained, or kept on file in the course of official business, or that has been received in the course of official business.
OPRA covers more than just paper records. Under OPRA, a "government record" includes printed records, tape recordings, microfilm, electronically stored records (including e-mails and data sets stored in a database), books, maps, photographs, etc.
All government records are subject to public access unless they are specifically exempt under OPRA or any other law. There are 24 specific exemptions contained in OPRA.

What records are exempt from public access?

There are multiple specific exemptions contained in OPRA. There are also exemptions contained in various Executive Orders. Click here for a listing of all exemptions in OPRA as well as exemptions contained in Executive Orders.
These exemptions do not represent an exhaustive list of records that are not available for public access. There may be exemptions contained in other State statutes, regulations, case law, etc.

Who is the "custodian of a government record?"

OPRA defines "custodian of a government record" as that official designated by formal action of a public agency's director or governing body that has custody or control of the government records of the public agency. Some large state departments have determined that they can be more responsive to requests for access to government records by designating more than one custodian. For example, the New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety is comprised of ten divisions and four agencies; each of the divisions and agencies in Law & Public Safety designated a custodian to deal with records requests made to that division or agency.

OPRA provides that the custodian of government records in a municipality is the Municipal Clerk. However, OPRA does not preclude a municipality from developing reasonable and practical measures for responding to OPRA requests, which may include the designation of deputy custodians for particular types of records (most common occurrence is the Police Department).

How do I submit an OPRA request?

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. A records request under OPRA cannot be made verbally.
Some public agencies have created systems that will permit 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.

What if I don't know the name of the records I want to access?

Requestors may not know the names of certain records. The spirit of OPRA implies that custodians should assist requestors with identifying the records they are seeking, although a custodian's failure to do so is not a violation of OPRA.

Records Management Services, within the New Jersey Department of Treasury, maintains listings of records which must be maintained by public agencies. These listings may aid requestors in identifying the names of the records sought. Click here to access Records Management Services' website.

Do I have to include payment with my request?

No. If there are any fees associated with a request, the records custodian will contact the requestor regarding the specific cost and instructions on how to remit payment. Requestors are not required to send payment with the request.

When should I expect a response to my OPRA request?

Custodians should respond in writing to your OPRA request as soon as possible but not later than seven (7) business days after the request is received, provided that the record is currently available and not in storage or archived. Day One (1) is the day following the custodian's receipt of the request. The Custodian's response must grant access to the records you seek, deny access to the records you seek, ask for clarification of your request or ask for an extension to time to fulfill your request.

Can I access any records immediately?

Yes. OPRA requires that custodians must ordinarily grant immediate access to budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts (including collective negotiations agreements and individual employment contracts), and public employee salary and overtime information.
Immediate access means at once, without delay. Exceptions may include instances in which the requested records are in use, in storage, or require medium conversion. In such instances, the custodian must provide access as immediately as possible. Agencies should act reasonably, however, using their best efforts to comply with this requirement.
If a custodian cannot provide immediate access to records for a legitimate reason, the custodian must reduce such reason to writing and request an extension of time to comply with the immediate statutory requirement.

Can the custodian take more than seven (7) business days to respond to my OPRA request?

Yes. Custodians may seek extensions of time beyond the seven (7) business day deadline for legitimate reasons (such as the record is in use or in storage). Custodians must notify the requestor in writing, within the statutorily mandated seven (7) business days and provide an anticipated deadline date upon which the records will be provided. The length of the extension must be reasonable under the circumstances. The Custodian's failure to grant or deny access to the requested records by the extended deadline date results in a deemed denial of the request.

How much can the custodian charge me for my OPRA request?

Custodians may charge the fee prescribed by law or regulation, if another law sets a specific fee for specific record. What does this mean? This sentence means that custodians are to charge OPRA requestors any copy fees that are established by other New Jersey laws or regulations, if said fees exist.
For example, N.J.S.A. 22A:4-1a sets forth specific fees for certain records filed with the New Jersey Department of Treasury (and requested from the Department of Treasury). Specifically, said statute provides that "[i]f a roll of microfilm images is requested, the State Treasurer shall collect a fee of $1.00 for each image on the microfilm roll." Thus, if a requestor seeks access to a microfilm roll from the Department of Treasury, the Department's custodian must charge the fees established in N.J.S.A. 22A:4-1a. The same applies for any other records that have specific fees established in other New Jersey laws or regulations.
Municipal ordinances do not qualify under OPRA as being another law or regulation.
If there is no other fee established by law or regulation, the standard copying fee is $0.05 per page for letter sized printed pages and $0.07 per page for legal sized printed pages. This is the most common copying fee under OPRA. For example, a custodian providing access to 3 pages of printed meeting minutes on letter size pages would charge a requestor $0.15 ($0.05 per page for 3 pages = $0.15).
If a public agency can prove that its actual costs to produce printed pages are more than $0.05/$0.07, the agency may charge its actual costs. Click here for details on how an agency may calculate its actual costs.
Electronic records sent via e-mail or fax are free of charge.
Custodians must charge the actual cost for all other materials such as CD, DVD, cassette, etc. The actual cost is the cost of the material only and cannot include any labor fees. For example, if the GRC purchased a package of 100 CD-ROMs for $100 and provided records to a requestor on 1 CD-ROM, the actual cost of said CD-ROM is $1.00 ($100 ÷ 100 = $1.00).

What is a special service charge?

A special service charge is essentially a labor fee that may be charged when a request is voluminous, requiring extensive time and effort, or when the request required extensive use of technology. Special services charges must be reasonable and based on actual direct cost of fulfilling the request. Actual direct cost means the hourly rate of the lowest level employee capable of fulfilling the request (no fringe benefits).
The imposition of a special service charge is extremely subjective and the determination is made on a case-by-case basis. No special service charges can be established in advance by ordinance.
The custodian must notify the requestor in advance of the special service charge. The requestor has the right to disagree with the special service charge. If the custodian and requestor cannot reach an agreement regarding the special service charge, the request is considered denied. Complainants may challenge a custodian's special service charge by filing a Denial of Access Complaint with the Government Records Council or filing an action in the Superior Court of New Jersey.
The following is an example of a special service charge for a voluminous request:
Request: Meeting minutes from 2005 to present. There are 1,000 pages of responsive records which will take the custodian 2 ½ hours to copy. The Custodian may charge her direct hourly rate for the 2 ½ hours required to fulfill request. Custodian must estimate cost and notify requestor before fulfilling the request.

Is there a fee to convert records to a specific medium?

Maybe. Actual costs apply.

Example 1: A requestor wants a record sent via e-mail. The Custodian must scan a paper document to convert it to electronic format. The request takes the Custodian 5 minutes to complete. No charges apply.
Example 2: A requestor wants an audio recording of a meeting on CD-ROM. The Custodian copies the recording in house onto a CD-ROM the agency purchased for $0.50. The request takes the Custodian 20 minutes to complete. The charge is $0.50.
Example 3: A requestor wants large tax maps on CD-ROM. The Custodian does not have the capability to scan large maps and must use a third party vendor. The vendor charges the agency $5.00 for the service. The $5.00 fee is passed onto requestor.
Special Note: Vendor fees are special service charges and must be approved by requestor prior to being incurred.

What is a broad and/or unclear request?

A broad and/or unclear request fails to name specific government records, or requires the custodian to conduct research.

(Example of an overly broad request: "Any and all records related to the construction of the new high school.")

The term "records" does not reasonably identify a specific government record.

Example of a valid request: "Any and all e-mails between Jane Doe and John Smith regarding the construction of the new high school from January 1, 2009 to February 28, 2009."

This request identifies a specific type of record, parties to the correspondence, dates and subject matter.

Example of a request that requires research: "all meeting minutes from 2011 in which the Council discussed Jane Doe, Human Resource Manager."

This request is invalid because it requires the custodian to research/read through all the 2011 minutes to determine when the Council discussed Jane Doe, Human Resource Manager.

Example of a valid request: "all meeting minutes from 2011."

The requestor would then have to conduct his own research to determine which minutes contain the subjects in which he is interested. A custodian may either deny an overly broad/unclear request, or seek clarification of the request. The custodian's request for clarification must be in writing, within seven (7) business days of receipt of the request. If a custodian seeks clarification of an OPRA request, the response time clock stops until the requestor provides a response to the custodian.

Can a custodian deny me access to government records?

Yes. There are 24 specific exemptions to public access contained in OPRA. If a record requested, or portions of a record requested, fit into any of OPRA's 24 exemptions, the custodian may deny access.
The custodian must provide the requestor with the specific legal basis for the denial of access.

What do I do if I believe I was illegally denied access to records?

The New Jersey Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.) permits a person who believes he or she has been illegally denied access to a public record to file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC), or file suit in Superior Court to challenge the decision and compel disclosure. This poster describes the procedures for taking these actions.

To file a complaint with the Government Records Council:

Contact the GRC by phone at: 1-866-850-0511, by e-mail at Government.Records@dca.nj.gov, or review the GRC web site at www.nj.gov/grc for information and to register your complaint.
The GRC staff may be able to help resolve the problem over the phone. If not, you can receive a complaint form through the mail or from the web site.
When you file the written complaint, the GRC will offer you and the public agency non-adversarial, impartial mediation.
If mediation is not agreed to or fails, the GRC will investigate the complaint.
The investigation may result in findings or a formal decision by the GRC, which may include a hearing by the Council.
In some cases, the Council can award attorneys fees or fine a records custodian for failing to provide records.
Details of this process are available from the GRC.
There is no fee to file a complaint with the GRC.

To file a complaint in Superior Court:

A requester may start a summary (expedited) lawsuit in the Superior Court. A written complaint and order to show cause must be filed with the court.
The court requires a $300.00 filing fee, and you must serve the lawsuit papers on the appropriate public officials.
The court will schedule a hearing and resolve the dispute.
If you disagree with the court's decision, you may appeal the decision to the Appellate Division of Superior Court.
If you are successful, you may be entitled to reasonable attorney fees.
You may wish to consult with an attorney to learn about initiating and pursuing a summary lawsuit in the Superior Court.