Open Records

New York’s public records law is the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), Article 6 of the Public Officers Law. First passed in 1974 and significantly overhauled in 1977 (with important amendments in 1982, 2005, and 2008), it guarantees the public access to records held by New York State and municipal government agencies.

Who can request records

Any person may request records – New York doesn’t require residency. Requesters don’t need to provide a specific reason or justification, and there are no restrictions on how records may be used once obtained.

What’s covered

A “record” is any information kept, held, filed, produced, or reproduced by, with, or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form. Every New York State or municipal department, board, bureau, division, commission, public authority, or similar governmental entity performing a governmental or proprietary function is subject to FOIL. The courts are technically outside FOIL’s coverage, though they often must disclose records under other legal provisions.

How to request

Submit a written request – by mail, email, fax, or hand delivery – to the agency’s designated Records Access Officer (often the Village, Town, or City Clerk for local governments). Every agency capable of receiving email and transmitting records that way must accept FOIL requests via email. Keep the request specific and brief – a short, focused paragraph works better than a long, sprawling one.

Response timeline

Within 5 business days of receiving a written request, the agency must send a written response: making the record available, denying the request (with reasons), or acknowledging receipt with an estimated date for when the records will be available (the estimate must be “reasonable under the circumstances,” accounting for the volume of documents, redaction needs, and other factors). In practice, some agencies are notoriously slow – FOIL requests to certain high-volume agencies can take 25+ days or longer despite the 5-day acknowledgment requirement.

Fees

– Standard paper copies: up to $0.25/page (for documents up to 9″x14″), or actual reproduction cost for larger/different formats, unless a different fee is set by statute. – No fee is charged if the time needed to comply with the request is less than 2 hours (the “2-hour rule”). – Storage devices (disks, thumb drives) can be charged at actual cost if a large volume of records is requested electronically. – Fees for outside personnel or technology needed to fulfill the request may also apply.

Exemptions

Common exemptions include information whose disclosure would result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, along with several other statutory categories under the Public Officers Law.

If your request is denied

Appeals must be filed within 30 days of the written response, addressed to the agency’s designated FOIL Appeals Officer. The agency must issue a written decision on the appeal within 10 business days of receiving it. If the appeal is denied, the requester can pursue an Article 78 proceeding in state court – a prevailing requester can be awarded reimbursement of reasonable attorney’s fees.

A note on terminology

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