Hub · Binder Tab B · Records
One place to start a records request, track it, find the right office, and know what to do if you are denied. This page does not duplicate handbook content — it frames and organizes everything Before They Build already publishes on records.
≈4 min read
Almost any government-held document that is not specifically exempt: permits, plans, staff reports, inspection logs, emails between officials, environmental studies, complaint files, and meeting recordings. The Public Records Handbook lists what is typically available and what is typically exempt.
Use the Public Records Request Packet for a printable worksheet, submission log, and follow-up tracker. The Handbook has letter templates you can copy. Most agencies accept email; some require a portal.
A denial is the beginning of the conversation, not the end. The Handbook covers appeals, fee-waiver requests, and how to narrow a request that was rejected as too broad. The Request Packet has an appeal tracker so you do not lose deadlines.
Use the submission, follow-up, fee, and appeal trackers in the Request Packet. For complaints that arise from what you find, use the Complaint Tracker.
Start with the Agency Library if you know the topic, or the Response Directory if you only know the problem. For physical projects, the Research-a-Project Handbook walks you through narrowing the right office.
Most jurisdictions allow anonymous requests, though some require a name for follow-up. You never need to explain why you want the records. The Handbook covers what you can and cannot be asked.
Tab B of the binder. Use these in roughly this order.
The complete companion. Read this first if records are new to you.
Request worksheet, submission log, follow-up tracker, fee tracker, appeal tracker.
Records are most powerful when paired with this checklist.
When a records response reveals something wrong, log the complaint here.
Find the office that probably holds the records.
If you only know the problem, start here and work backward to the right office.
A note on letter templates
Copyable letter templates — initial request, status follow-up, fee-waiver request, and appeal — live inside the Public Records Handbook. They are not duplicated here so there is only ever one canonical version to maintain.