Open Records

Arizona’s public records law is the Arizona Public Records Law, one of the oldest in the nation, found at Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 39-121 through 39-161. It requires that public records in the custody of any officer be open to inspection by any person during office hours, and it applies to all state and local government entities – cities, counties, school districts, and any publicly funded body.

Who can request records

Any person may request Arizona public records, regardless of residency, and without stating a reason. Requesters must disclose whether the request is for a commercial purpose (A.R.S. § 39-121.03) – commercial use carries different fee rules and potential civil penalties if a requester misrepresents their purpose.

How to request

– Most agencies accept requests in writing, including by mail, email, fax, or an online form; some agencies also accept in-person or phone requests. – Arizona law requires public bodies to post the name, phone number, and email of an employee or department authorized to handle public records requests (A.R.S. § 39-171). – Being specific about what you’re looking for speeds up processing, especially for larger or more complex requests.

Response deadlines

Arizona does NOT set a specific numeric response deadline. Instead, the law requires agencies to respond “promptly” (A.R.S. § 39-121.01(E)) – what counts as prompt depends on the complexity and volume of the request, and courts have held that unexplained silence or delay can itself be treated as a denial. In practice, many agencies note it can take up to 30 days depending on the request, but there’s no hard statutory cap either way. A valid response includes providing the record, denying the request with a written explanation citing the specific legal basis, or acknowledging the request with an estimated completion date.

Fees

– Agencies may charge for the actual cost of reproduction (commonly a per-page fee for paper copies) for non-commercial requests. – Agencies generally cannot charge for staff time spent searching for or reviewing records for non-commercial requests – only for making copies. – If a requester only wants to inspect records in person, or brings their own device to copy them, agencies should not charge a fee at all. – Commercial-purpose requests carry additional charges tied to the commercial value of the records (A.R.S. § 39-121.03).

Exemptions

Arizona’s law is presumptively open – records are public unless a specific exemption applies, and the agency must cite the specific legal basis for withholding any record; a blanket refusal with no cited law is itself considered a violation. Common exemptions include personal privacy interests (medical records, Social Security numbers), records relating to minors, and crime victim information protected under Arizona’s victims’ rights laws. Judicial branch records are handled separately from the general public records law (through court rules like Rule 123), not through this statute.

If your request is denied

A denial (or an unreasonable delay treated as a denial) can be challenged by filing a special action in Arizona Superior Court. Courts may award attorney fees to a requester who substantially prevails, which gives some financial backing to legitimate access disputes.

A note on terminology

Arizona’s law is officially the “Arizona Public Records Law” – you may also see it referred to informally as Arizona’s version of a “freedom of information” or “FOIA” law, though Arizona’s own statute doesn’t use that name.