Please be advised that pursuant to long-standing Law & Public Safety policy and practice, submission of requests for access to government records by e-mail is not permitted. This restriction is supported by New Jersey case law. In 2009, the Appellate Division stated in Renna v. County of Union, 407 N.J. Super. 230 (App. Div. 2009), “the primary objective of the statutory construct is that the requester set forth in writing, and in a cogent and clear manner, the nature of the request and the other information required by N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(f).” On the same day, the Appellate Division held in Paff v. City of East Orange, 407 N.J. Super. 221 (App. Div. 2009):

“We conclude that the authority N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5 (f) (1) confers upon a custodian of government records to adopt a form for requesting access to a government record, which includes ‘specific directions and procedures for requesting a record,’ authorizes a custodian to direct that a request for a government record must be transmitted only by methods specified in the form, which need not include every method of transmission mentioned in N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g).”
The records request form for the Department of Law and Public Safety, in relevant part, states:

1. State Law requires that in order to request access to government records, you must complete, sign and date a written request for access and deliver it in person or by mail during regular business hours to the appropriate custodian of the record requested. You may also complete and submit a web enabled version of this request form at www.nj.gov/opra. L&PS will not accept submission of a written request for access by fax or email. Your request is not considered filed until the written request has been received by the appropriate custodian of the record requested.

2. If you a) submit a request for access to government records to someone other than the appropriate custodian; or b) do not complete a written request containing the information required in this form; or c) make a request for access by telephone, email or fax, the Open Public Records Act and its deadlines, restrictions and remedies will not apply to your request.

For these reasons, I am not able to accept your submission as a valid request for access to government records.

If you wish to submit a request for government records in the manner described above, please be sure to provide as much information as possible to help us locate the record(s) you seek . You may submit your request online at http://www.njpublicsafety.com/opra/index.... In the column on the left, you can choose "OAG-LPS Specific Form" and then choose the appropriate Division from the drop-down menu. For example, if the individuals below are employees within the Division of Law, choose "Division of Law" from the drop-down menu.

Sincerely,

Megan M. Timmins
Assistant OAG Custodian of Records
Office of the Attorney General
Department of Law and Public Safety
Hughes Justice Complex
25 Market Street, 3rd Floor W
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
P: (609) 984-6998
F: (609) 292-4162

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