Open Records Requests

O.C.G.A. 50-18-71 (a) provides that: "All public records shall be open for personal inspection and copying, except those which by order of a court of this state or by law are specifically exempted from disclosure."

PLEASE NOTE: Georgia's Open Meetings and Open Records Laws state that an agency shall not be required to prepare/create reports, summaries or non-existent compilations in response to a records request. § 50-18-71(j).  

To file an Open Records Request, please e-mail the appropriate department as described below. If you need further information, please call the number listed for the department who handles the type of records you wish to receive.

Within three business days of receiving the request, the county will determine which records are readily available, and which will require research. The county will provide the readily available documents within three business days. If research is required, the county will provide the requester with an approximate cost and completion date.

The costs for research (search, retrieval, copying, and redaction of responsive documents to satisfy requests) are as follows:

  • The first 15 minutes are free.
  • After the first 15 minutes, the cost per hour will be equal to the employee with the lowest hourly rate with the necessary skills and training to respond to the request.
  • .10 per page for letter or legal size documents
  • The County may charge the actual cost of any media items used to complete the request (DVD, CD, thumb drive, etc.)

For electronic records, the county may charge the actual cost of the media on which the records or data are produced.

GENERAL INFORMATION: