Open Records

West Virginia’s public records law is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), W. Va. Code § 29B-1-1 et seq. Any nonexempt public record held by a public body is open for inspection upon a written request describing the information sought with reasonable specificity.

Who can request records

Anyone may request public records – no statement of purpose is required, and there are no restrictions on how records may be used afterward.

What’s covered

Public bodies include state agencies, county and municipal governments, offices, and boards, along with some non-government bodies funded with government money.

How to request

Submit a written request – by mail, email, fax, or in person – describing the records sought with reasonable specificity. Many public bodies provide a FOIA request form, though it usually isn’t mandatory to use it.

Response timeline

Public bodies must respond within 5 business days, either by providing the records, advising the requester of a time and place to inspect/copy them, or denying the request in writing with stated reasons. A denial ends the custodian’s responsibility to produce the records and gives the requester the right to seek injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court where the record is kept. Worth noting: a 2025 legislative attempt (HB 3412) would have extended this deadline to 14 days, allowed search/retrieval fees, and weakened the law’s “liberally construed in favor of disclosure” standard – that bill died at the end of the legislative session without reaching the Governor’s desk, so the 5-day deadline and no-search-fee rule remain current law.

Fees

– Public bodies may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse their actual cost of reproducing records. – Public bodies may NOT charge a search or retrieval fee, or seek reimbursement on a man-hour basis, for the cost of finding and producing records – a distinctive, requester-friendly feature of West Virginia’s law (a search fee provision was part of the failed 2025 reform attempt). – Some agencies waive fees under a certain small total (e.g., under $10). – Payment is generally required in advance of production, unless the agency’s counsel determines otherwise.

Exemptions

Specific exemptions are outlined in W. Va. Code § 29B-1-4.

If your request is denied

A written denial gives the requester the right to institute proceedings for injunctive or declaratory relief in the circuit court in the county where the public record is kept. There’s no separate administrative appeal body – court action is the direct next step after a denial. The West Virginia Secretary of State maintains a public, searchable online database of FOIA requests (not the records themselves) reported by public bodies, tracking response times and outcomes – a transparency measure unique among many states’ FOIA frameworks.

A note on terminology

West Virginia’s law is officially the “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) – the same basic type of law that other states call an “Open Records Act,” “FOIA Laws” (South Carolina, using the same core name), or “Public Records Laws” (Tennessee).