Open Records

New Jersey’s public records law is the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., which replaced the older “Right to Know Law.” It’s designed to give the public greater access to government records maintained by public agencies.

Who can request records

Any person may request records. A custodian must deny access to someone convicted of certain indictable offenses in New Jersey (or an equivalent offense elsewhere) unless the request relates to their own case, a narrower restriction than most states impose.

What’s covered

OPRA covers government records held by public agencies. Records from the Legislature are primarily legislative records, handled somewhat differently – records from an executive agency (like the Department of Education or Environmental Protection) are requested directly from that agency. OPRA doesn’t require an agency to provide legal services or create a new record that doesn’t already exist.

How to request

Submit a completed, signed, and dated written request, delivered in person, by mail, or online (many agencies now use a web-enabled form). If you choose not to provide contact information, the custodian isn’t required to respond until you reappear seeking a response to the original request.

Response timeline

Standard requests: the custodian must respond as soon as possible, but no later than 7 business days after receipt (Day 1 begins the day after receipt). Several important exceptions: – “Immediate access” records (budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts, government employee salary/overtime information) should be provided “on the spot.” – Certain criminal investigation information must be released within 24 hours or as soon as practicable. – Commercial-purpose requests get a 14-business-day window (can be reduced to 7 days if the requester pays up to double the production cost) – the custodian must notify the requester of this extended timeframe within the initial 7 days. – Requests requiring review under “Daniel’s Law” (protecting certain public officials’ personal information) also get 14 business days. – A recent reform (S2930) formalized several of these tiered timelines.

Fees

– Standard paper copies: $0.05/page (letter size), $0.07/page (legal size). – Special/extraordinary service charges may apply for voluminous or technically complex requests – based on the actual direct cost (hourly rate of the lowest-level employee capable of doing the work, no fringe benefits) – an “extraordinary expenditure of time” is generally defined as more than 7 hours of staff time. – A deposit of 50% (or more) may be required for requests over $25; anonymous requests exceeding $5 require a 100% deposit upfront. – Payment isn’t required to be sent with the initial request – the custodian will contact you with the specific cost first.

Exemptions

OPRA contains multiple specific statutory exemptions, plus additional exemptions found in various Executive Orders and other state statutes, regulations, and case law – there’s no single exhaustive list.

If your request is denied

Requesters can file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) or institute a proceeding in Superior Court – a Verified Complaint in court must be filed within 45 days of the denial (or the date a response was due, if the agency simply failed to respond). If a court or the GRC finds the agency “unreasonably denied access, acted in bad faith, or knowingly and willfully violated” OPRA, it will award reasonable attorney’s fees. A 2024 reform shifted requester appeal fee entitlement from “shall” to “may” be awarded, and added protections for agencies against requesters who intentionally disrupt operations (requiring clear and convincing evidence).

A note on terminology

New Jersey’s law is officially the “Open Public Records Act” (OPRA) – the same basic type of law that other states call an “Open Records Act,” “FOIA Laws” (South Carolina), or “Public Records Laws” (Tennessee).