ARA-8.03 - Public Records Requests

A. Purpose and Authority

Oregon’s public records law Chapter 192 provides that: “Every person has a right to inspect any public record of a public body in this state.” The definition of “public body” includes state and local organizations, including county and city governing bodies. Although the law provides specific exemptions to disclosure, most City records in the possession of a public body must be made available to the public for inspection.

Oregon’s public records law requires the City to provide timely responses to requests for public records, to make available to the public a written procedure for making public records requests, and to provide information about the fees charged by the City. The purpose of this rule is to document the City’s public records request procedures and fees.

Portland City Council adopted a public records request form, fees, and procedures in 2007, through Resolution 36563. In 2009, Resolution 36756 authorized the City Auditor to adopt future updates to the form and schedule of fees by administrative rule, without further Council approval. 

B. Submitting a Public Records Request

1. Public records requests must be made in writing and may only be submitted in one of the two following methods unless an accommodation is requested in writing and granted:
   1. Online, through the Portland Public Records Request Center.
      1. The City encourages the use of the online system. The system is designed to streamline the public records request process, provide quicker responses from City agencies, and simplify the management of responses to requests involving multiple City agencies.
      2. The Portland Public Records Request Center provides instructions for creating an account, submitting a request, and monitoring its progress.
   2. Using the City’s Uniform Public Records Request Form which is available in multiple languages in the Related Documents at the end of this rule. The completed form may be submitted in person or by U.S. mail to the City agency that houses the responsive records.
      1. A list of public records contacts for each City agency can be found online. Working with the designated contact person for that agency can improve the City’s response to requests. NOTE: Requests to Permitting & Development require additional information. Forms and instructions are available on Permitting & Development’s website.
      2. The Uniform Public Records Request form cannot be submitted via email unless an accommodation is needed, or a translated version of the form is used (see Section E). Translated versions of the Uniform Public Records Request form can be submitted via email to: PRRhelp@portlandoregon.gov.
2. The responding City agency will use the City’s online Public Records Request system to respond to public records requests within a reasonable time.

C. Guidelines for Submitting Public Records Requests

Requesters must follow these guidelines when submitting a public records request: 

1. Submit the request to a particular agency. Requesters should direct requests to the agency responsible for and in possession of the requested records.  When submitting requests online via the Portland Public Records Request Center, the requester will be required to select which agency the request is directed to. Questions about which agency is responsible for the records can be directed to PRRhelp@portlandoregon.gov. If a request is submitted to the incorrect agency, it may be rejected with directions to submit to the correct agency before the request will be processed.
2. Identify specific records in the request. Requesters must identify and describe the records sought with as much specificity as possible, including a date range and the record title, if known.
3. Request existing records. The City is only required to provide existing public records in response to records requests. It is not required to create documents to respond to public records requests. The City will fulfill requests for records that exist up to the date and time the public record request is submitted. Records responding to a public records request which are not otherwise publicly available will be released through the Portland Public Records Request Center. Requesters seeking to inspect or obtain copies of records on a continuing basis must submit new, successive records requests for each date range, which cannot extend beyond the date and time the public records request is submitted.
4. Use the Public Records Request Center for all written communication after a request has been submitted. Please do not email or write to public records responders outside of the Request Center which can lead to confusion and delay. However, if you need to call and discuss a request with a public records responder, their contact information should be on messages sent to you or on the central contact list.
5. Request single types of records or by a single topic. If a request seeks multiple types or sets of records, or records on different topics, this will be considered a multi-part request. The City may reject multi-part requests and require the requester to submit individual requests.
6. Changes to a request after submission may require submission of a new request. Minor changes that clarify or narrow the original request are allowed. However, any changes that expand the request to include new records – such as adding new dates, individuals, or types of records – must be submitted as a new request.
7. The City might not consider information submitted after a request is closed. If a request has been closed, any additional information provided by the requester may not be considered, and the requester should submit a new request. For example, if a request requires a waiver or release, and the request is closed for not having provided the waiver or release, the requester may be asked to submit a new request.
8. Questions are not considered public records requests. A requester cannot reframe a question as a public records request. A request must identify a specific document or objective criteria to locate documents that contain information related to the conduct of the City’s business.
9. When filing a public records request online or providing an email on the Uniform Public Records Request Form, the requester agrees to receive records, invoices, and fee estimates electronically by logging into their account on the Portland Public Records Request Center and understands the records and fee estimates may not necessarily be attached to email correspondence and are considered sent when made available in the Portland Records Request Center.

D. City Contacts for Public Records Requests

A list of public records contacts for each City agency is available online.

E. Accommodations 

The City will make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities and/or those needing assistance with language interpretation and translation when making public records requests. 

1. Accommodation requests related to public records should be made to the public records contact for the City agency that houses the requested records, or via email to: PRRhelp@portlandoregon.gov.
2. The Uniform Public Records Request Form is available in multiple languages at the bottom of this rule.

F. Right to Appeal

Any person denied the right to inspect or to receive a copy of any public record of the City of Portland may petition the Multnomah County District Attorney for review, in accordance with ORS 192.415. The denial of a fee waiver request may also be appealed. More information on how to file a petition for review can be found on the Multnomah County District Attorney website. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person denied the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record in the custody of an elected official, or in the custody of any other person but as to which an elected official claims the right to withhold disclosure, may institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the appropriate circuit court, in accordance with Oregon Law.

G. Fee Schedule for Public Records Requests

1. Oregon law authorizes public bodies to establish reasonable fees to be reimbursed for the actual costs of making public records available. The City’s actual costs may include:
   1. Time or costs to copy or convert records to paper or other media and mailing expenses.
   2. Time spent locating, reviewing, redacting, copying, and supervising a person’s inspection of original records in order to protect them.
   3. Research time to locate and analyze the requested records, even if no records are located or if the requested records are determined to be exempt from disclosure.
   4. Any time spent notifying public employees of requests for employee personal information.
   5. Time spent by an attorney to review, redact, or segregate records for possible exemptions.
2. The City’s Standard Fee Schedule for Public Records Requests is available at: Download the City's Standard Fee Schedule. The fee schedule incorporates general fees and fees specific to and determined by individual City agencies.
3. Unless waived, full payment of the total amount of costs incurred is required before the public records may be inspected or copies released.
4. If the estimated costs involved in fulfilling a public records request exceed $25, then the City will advise the requester of those costs as detailed in Section C, Part 9 of this rule, and require the requester’s approval prior to beginning work. Furthermore, a deposit of at least 50% of the estimated costs will be required for the City to begin work.
5. A fee waiver may be available and fee waiver requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
   1. Under Oregon law, a public interest fee waiver may be requested. To be eligible, the requester must show that the request primarily benefits the public interest. However, even when the request benefits the public interest, the City is not required to waive fees. The City will evaluate the totality of the circumstances and make a reasonable decision on whether to waive or reduce fees. The City will evaluate the financial and resource burdens placed on the City by the request as well as other factors. To make a determination, the City may request information sufficient to evaluate whether the request primarily benefits the public interest. If the requester fails to provide requested information, the fee waiver request may be denied.
   2. At their discretion, the City Administrator or their designee, or for records in the possession of the Auditor, the Auditor or their designee, may set policy establishing other types of fee waivers.
6. Refunds will be issued only in the event of overpayment, duplicate payments, or payment made when no public record request fee was due. Refunds may be requested by sending a message via the online system or by calling (503) 823-6040 before 4:00 PM Pacific Time.
7. For purposes of calculating time spent responding to public records requests, the cost of employee labor will typically be calculated based upon the hourly wage plus the direct overhead of the lowest paid employee(s) with the availability, knowledge, and skillset needed to effectively or efficiently fulfill the request.
   1. For requests requiring multiple significantly differing skillsets to complete, employee labor may be calculated separately for each significantly differing skillset.
   2. Direct overhead will be calculated as a percentage of an employee’s hourly wage. The percentage will be determined on a Citywide basis and is defined as the City covered cost of retirement benefits, payroll taxes, and minimum vacation, holiday pay, or other benefit provided to employees citywide as calculated by the Bureau of Human Resources for a full-time City employee. The City retains the right to use a direct overhead percentage below this calculated rate as long as the percentage is used consistently for all public record requests. The rate will be stated in the Standard Fee Schedule for Public Records Requests.
8. In addition to the cost of employee labor, the City, at its discretion, may charge requesters the actual cost of materials used to copy records or convert records from one form to another (for example, the costs of paper or toner), as well as mailing costs. If the City uses third-party contractors or a third-party vendor to fulfill all or part of a public records request, the City may pass the actual costs charged by such third parties to the requester.
9. Council adopted the initial Standard Fee Schedule for Public Records Requests and has authorized the City Auditor to adopt updates to the fee schedule by administrative rule, without further Council approval. The City Auditor will adopt updates to the fee schedule as follows:
   1. Before proposing a public records fee increase, a City agency must gather information to estimate the agency’s actual costs of responding to records requests and must work with the City Attorney’s Office to determine an appropriate fee based on the information gathered.
   2. A City agency proposing to increase or decrease public records request fees must submit a written request to the Auditor’s Office to amend the fee schedule. The written request must provide an explanation for how the new fee was calculated.
   3. The Auditor’s Office will provide notice of the proposed fee change and will accept public comments on the proposed change for at least 30 days, in accordance with Auditor’s Office Administrative Rule 1.02 – Auditor’s Office Administrative Rule Process.
      1. The Auditor’s Office will include the explanation submitted by the City agency in the public notice of rulemaking.
      2. The Auditor’s Office will forward all comments to the proposing City agency and the City Attorney’s Office for consideration.
   4. The City agency must consider all comments received and may:
      1. Post or send responses to comments.
      2. Ask the Auditor’s Office to extend the comment period to allow for additional public input.
      3. Ask the Auditor’s Office to adopt the proposed fee change or to adopt a fee change that has been decreased or increased by the City agency or office in response to comments received.
   5. The Auditor’s Office will not adopt a fee change unless the process in this rule has been followed.
   6. At minimum, all fees will be reviewed every three years. Any fee increases will take affect at the beginning of the next fiscal year.
   7. Standard copy and scanning fees will be set by the Auditor’s Office.
   8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Auditor’s Office may adopt a decrease in fees to be charged to the public without prior notice or comment on an interim basis, so long as the revised fee schedule is adopted in accordance with the above procedure within 180 days of modification. 

H. Public Record Request Forms

The City of Portland will make available to the public two versions of the City’s public records request form: (1) a printable Uniform Public Records Request Form and (2) an online Public Records Request Portal in which to make public records requests.

1. These two forms will be designed and made available by the City Attorney’s Office in partnership with City agencies.
2. With regards to updates and other types of changes to the printable Uniform Public Records Request Form:
   1. The City Attorney’s Office may make procedural modifications without rulemaking. The City Attorney’s Office may also, without rulemaking, make modifications to reflect changes to City structure or directives and to improve public usability or accessibility when requesting public records.
   2. Notwithstanding subsection “a,” significant updates and changes that substantially alter the structure or functionality of the printable form will be adopted by the City Auditor by administrative rule as outlined in ARA 1.02 - Auditor’s Office Administrative Rule Process.
3. With regards to the Public Records Request Portal:
   1. The portal will, at minimum, include the substance of the printable Uniform Public Records Request Form. The portal may include additional fields for the purpose of clarifying the request to minimize the need to ask requesters for further information or actions in order to complete their requests.
   2. The City Attorney’s Office may make procedural modifications or technical changes not viewable by the public without rulemaking. The City Attorney’s Office may also, without rulemaking, make modifications: to bring the portal into legal compliance, to reflect changes to City structure or directives, to improve public usability or accessibility when requesting public records, to reduce the response time of fulfilling requests, or to maintain portal functionality.
   3. The City Auditor or their designee retains the right to review the portal to ensure it complies with this provision of the rule.

I. Other Resources

Further information regarding making public records requests and publicly available information can be found on City’s public records website. 

For additional information, please consult the Oregon Attorney General’s Public Records and Meetings Manual. 

Another resource is: A Quick Reference Guide to Oregon's Public Records Law, published by Open Oregon: a Freedom of Information Coalition in collaboration with the Oregon Attorney General's Office. 

Related Documents