What is a Public Record under the Right to Know Law?
Law’s Definition
A record is defined by the Right to Know Law to be “information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that documents a transaction or activity of an agency and that is created, received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with a transaction, business or activity of the agency.” A record can take many forms. A record can be a document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film or sound recording, information stored or maintained electronically and a data-processed or image-processed document.
Under the Right to Know Law, all government records in the possession of a Commonwealth or Local Agency are presumed to be accessible by the public. This means that you may access any government records you request unless the agency is able to prove that the record you requested is not public under the law. Agencies have the burden of proving that records are not public. If the agency fails to prove that a record is not public, that record must be disclosed.
Under the law, a record is considered public if it:
1. Is not protected by a privilege;
2. Is not exempt from disclosure under a different federal or state law, regulation, or judicial order; or
3. Is not exempt under one of the thirty exemptions of Section 708 of the RTKL.
In short, any agency record that does not fit into any of these three categories is considered a public record and is accessible under the law. It is the burden of the agency to prove that a record is not public by showing it falls within one of the exceptions listed above. These categories will be explained in more detail at the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
Law’s Definition
A record is defined by the Right to Know Law to be “information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, that documents a transaction or activity of an agency and that is created, received, or retained pursuant to law or in connection with a transaction, business or activity of the agency.” A record can take many forms. A record can be a document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film or sound recording, information stored or maintained electronically and a data-processed or image-processed document.
Under the Right to Know Law, all government records in the possession of a Commonwealth or Local Agency are presumed to be accessible by the public. This means that you may access any government records you request unless the agency is able to prove that the record you requested is not public under the law. Agencies have the burden of proving that records are not public. If the agency fails to prove that a record is not public, that record must be disclosed.
Under the law, a record is considered public if it:
1. Is not protected by a privilege;
2. Is not exempt from disclosure under a different federal or state law, regulation, or judicial order; or
3. Is not exempt under one of the thirty exemptions of Section 708 of the RTKL.
In short, any agency record that does not fit into any of these three categories is considered a public record and is accessible under the law. It is the burden of the agency to prove that a record is not public by showing it falls within one of the exceptions listed above. These categories will be explained in more detail at the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records.
| right_to_know_request_form.pdf |
