Frequently Asked Questions

An RAO may charge and recover a fee for the time spent searching, redacting, photocopying, and refiling a record.

• The hourly rate may not be greater than the prorated hourly wage of the lowest-paid employee who is capable of performing the task. Generally, an RAO is not permitted to charge an hourly rate in excess of $25 per hour to search for records. Municipal RAOs may petition the Supervisor for permission to charge a fee in excess of $25.
• The fee estimate (GFE-Good Faith Estimate) must provide the hourly rate and the number of hours required for each portion of the task. An RAO may not recover fees associated with record organization.

The federal Freedom of Information Act is a statute that applies to federal records. The Massachusetts Public Records Law applies to records created by or in the custody of a state or local agency, board, or other government entity.

The Division of Public Records (Division) has always provided an "attorney of the day" to assist any person seeking information regarding the Public Records Law.

The hours of operation for the Division are Monday through Friday, with the exception of holidays, from 8:45 am to 5 pm. You can email the Division or call them at 617-727-2832.

Every record that is made or received by a government entity or employee is presumed to be a public record unless a specific statutory exemption permits or requires it to be withheld in whole or in part. Specific statutory exemptions have been created by the legislature. There are non-statutory exemptions as well, called common law exemptions. Non-statutory exemptions include the common law attorney-client privilege and the work-product privilege. These exemptions permit the agency or municipality to withhold a record from the public. A records access officer (RAO) must prove with specificity why it should be allowed to withhold any public record.

The exemptions to the Public Records Law are described in this guide. If an RAO claims an exemption and withholds a record, the RAO has the burden of showing how the exemption applies to the record and why it should be withheld.

A person seeking access to government records must obtain them from the government office that created or received the records.

The Division of Public Records (Division) is not a warehouse for government records. The only records kept in the Division are those that are essential to the business operations of the Division. To obtain public records, a person must directly contact the municipal or state agency office that is the custodian of the sought-for records.

The Public Records Law does not apply to records held by federal agencies, the legislature, or the courts of the Commonwealth. Accordingly, the Supervisor is unable to assist requesters seeking such records.

A Records Access Officer (RAO) is the person responsible for responding to requests for public records. Information on how to contact an RAO is usually available on the website for the applicable municipal or state entity holding the records sought by requesters.

A records custodian means any governmental entity that makes or receives public records.

To obtain a copy of a record, you must make a request to the RAO for the municipal or state agency that you believe has the records you are seeking.

An RAO must respond to your request as determined by the Public Records Law. If the RAO fails to respond or denies a request, a requester may appeal the matter to the Supervisor within ninety days.

Under the Public Records Regulations, all appeals to the Supervisor must include a copy of the original request, any response by the RAO, and a statement indicating the reason for the appeal. The requester must also provide a copy of the appeal petition to the RAO.

A requester may also commence a civil action in a superior court to enforce the requirements of the Public Records Law. Where applicable, the superior court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs in cases where the requestor obtains relief.

The Supervisor will close an appeal without a finding if a requester fails to provide a copy of the request or the response. The Supervisor will close an appeal without a finding if the requester fails to provide a copy of the request to the RAO, or fails to provide a copy of the petition for appeal to the RAO.

In such cases, a requester may seek a new appeal, provided the appeal is filed in compliance with the Public Records Regulations.

An RAO's response must be in writing and must provide the name of the RAO. The response must include a good faith estimate of any cost of providing the record.

The response must also include a specific exemption to the Public Records Law to justify the denial of access to any record and an explanation of how that exemption applies to the records. Any denial must include instructions on how to appeal to the Supervisor of Records.

A written request is not required but is strongly recommended. An oral request made in person is permitted. An RAO is not permitted to require a written request but may write an oral request on its own form to assist in a prompt response.

To appeal an RAO response to the Supervisor, however, a request must be in writing.

The Public Records Law only applies to records. An RAO is not required by the Public Records Law to answer questions or create a record in response to a request; however, an RAO must provide any records that exist that respond to a question.

Absent a specifically identified statute or regulation, an RAO may charge no more than $0.05 per page for single and double-sided black and white paper copies or computer printouts. There is no longer a separate charge for police or fire reports or for computer printouts.

The Public Records Law and its Regulations apply to all Massachusetts government records, regardless of form and regardless of location of the records.

The provision of public records in electronic form is preferred where available. An RAO is not permitted to assess a copying fee for electronic records. The $0.05 fee applies only to paper copies of records.

The Public Records Regulations require that an RAO provide a detailed, written, good-faith estimate for the cost of complying with a public record request.

The fee estimate must contain a statement advising the requester that the actual cost of producing the record might vary once the agency or municipality begins preparing the record. Any agency or municipality is permitted to require payment of the estimated fee before commencing work.

All agencies and municipalities are strongly urged to waive the fees associated with access to public records but are not required to do so under the law.

Public records that are of great interest to a large number of people must be readily available within the office of the RAO and should be provided at a minimum cost, if any. Examples include minutes of board meetings, town meeting documents, warrants, street lists, and municipal financial documents. Many of these records are required to be placed on the RAO's website.

RAOs must help the requester to determine the precise record or records responsive to a request; however, a requester must provide a reasonable description of the requested records. If a request is unclear, the RAO is expected to seek clarification from the requester.