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General Information

What is the Ohio Public Records Act?

The Ohio Public Records Act is built on the United States' historical principle that the records of government are "the people's records." Patterson v. Ayers, 171 Ohio St. 369 (1960). The Public Records Act provides citizens with steps to take in order to request records from any public office in Ohio while protecting certain specific types of records from release. It also establishes a legal process to enforce compliance when a requester feels that a public office has failed to satisfy its public records obligations. ORC Chapter 149.

Who can make a request for public records?

Any person can request public records by simply asking for them. Usually, the request can be made in any manner the requester chooses: by phone, in person, or in an e-mail or letter. The requester cannot be required to identify him- or herself, or to explain why the records are being requested, unless a specific law requires it. Often, however, a voluntary discussion about the requester's purposes or interest in seeking certain information can aid the public office in locating and producing the desired records. ORC 149.43(B)(5).

What does a public office have to do when it receives a public records request?

A public office must organize and maintain its records so that it can meet its duty to respond to public records requests. A public office also must keep a copy of its records retention schedule(s) at a location readily available to the public. ORC 149.43(B)(2). When it receives a public records request for specific existing records, the public office must provide inspection of the requested records during regular business hours or provide copies within a reasonable period of time. A requester is entitled to delivery of copies at the actual cost of packaging and delivery by any available means of delivery or transmission that he or she requests. ORC 149.43(B).

The public office may withhold specific records or specific portions of records that are covered by an exception to the Public Records Act, but is required to give the requester an explanation for any part of a record withheld, including the supporting legal authority. ORC 149.43(B)(3). In addition to denials based on an exception, a public office may deny a request in the extreme circumstance where compliance would unreasonably interfere with the discharge of the office's duties. A request can also be refused if the office no longer keeps the records, if the request is for items that are not records of the office, if the requester does not revise an ambiguous or overly broad request, or if the requester refuses to pay the cost of copies. ORC 149.43(B).

What makes a "record" a "public record?"

While the rights of records access under the Ohio Public Records Act apply to all records kept by an Ohio public office, the terms "records" and "public records" do not include every document or item found in a public office. Only those records that document the policies, operations, and other activities of the public office are "public records" under the Public Records Act. ORC 149.43(A)(1).

Can some public records be withheld from a requester?

The General Assembly has passed a number of laws that protect certain records by either requiring or allowing a public office to withhold them from public release. Where a public office uses one of these "exceptions," the office may only withhold a record or part of a record clearly covered by the exception, and must tell the requester what legal authority it is relying on to withhold the record. If only part of a record is protected by an exception, then the public office must redact (obscure or delete) only that part of the record and provide the unprotected remainder to the requester. ORC 149.43(B)(1).