Access to public records act

The Access to Public Records Act (APRA), Indiana Code 5-14-3, provides that a person has the right to access information regarding the government and the official acts of public officials and employees. The statute also states that government officials have a responsibility to provide that information to you.

APRA covers all public records of a city or county agency, including writings, reports, maps, tape recordings, and photographs. You can request to view or copy these items at any time, so long as these public records are not confidential or otherwise non-disclosable by law.

The law requires an agency to acknowledge records requests within a certain amount of time. Agencies must respond to verbal or in-person requests within 24 hours. They must respond to written requests by email, fax or U.S. mail within seven days of receiving them.

Following the response, an agency must give you access to any disclosable record within a reasonable period of time.

Under the law, agencies only need to provide access to existing records. If you request a record that does not exist, an agency does not have to create a record for you. Under the law, agencies only need to provide access to existing records.

Agencies have a responsibility to tell you whether the record you requested is disclosable or non-disclosable.  You have the right to view and copy all disclosable records.  You do not have the right to view or copy non-disclosable records.  An agency must provide the statutory basis when not disclosing all or part of a public record to you.

Some records are confidential and non-disclosed, including, but not limited to:

• Records protected by federal or state law, such as adoption or patient medical records
• Trade secrets
• Confidential financial information about a person or company

Other records may be disclosed if an agency exercises its discretion to disclose all or part of a public record, including, but not limited to:

• Investigatory records of a law enforcement agency
• Materials expressing opinions and used for decision-making
• Certain employee personnel file information

If a record contains both disclosable and non-disclosable information, the city or county agency must separate the disclosable material and make it available to you. This may be done by redacting, or blocking out, the non-disclosable information.