On November 20, 2017, the Division of Law (DOL) received an e-mail from AskNJ Media in which you may be seeking to request access to government records under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA).

Please be advised that pursuant to regulation, N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2, and long-standing policy and practice, submission of OPRA requests by facsimile transmission or e-mail is not permitted.

N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(a) states: “Written Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests shall be hand-delivered during normal business hours of the public agency, mailed or submitted electronically to the appropriate division or agency custodian of records over the Internet by means of a web-enabled OPRA request form, which can be found on the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website, www.state.nj.us/lps/opra. Submission of requests by facsimile transmission or e-mail is not permitted.”

N.J.A.C. 13:1E-2.4(b) provides, in part: “Only the appropriate division or agency custodian of the record requested is authorized to accept receipt of an OPRA request on behalf of that division or agency.”

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 1) submit a request for access to government records to someone other than the appropriate custodian; or 2) do not complete a written request containing the information required in this form; or 3) 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 November 20, 2017, e-mail to the DOL as a valid OPRA request.

You can file an OPRA request on-line with the DOL using the Online Request Form found at the Department of Law and Public Safety OPRA website www.state.nj.us/lps/opra.

The online OPRA request process was designed for the ease and convenience of requesters. You are not required to submit an OPRA request by using the online or paper OPRA request form. However, you are required to submit OPRA requests in writing. Please be sure to direct your request to the DOL.

Sincerely,

Octavia L. Frias, Records Custodian
State of New Jersey, Department of Law & Public Safety
Division of Law
Public Records Advice & Disputes Section
25 Market Street, PO Box 112
Trenton, NJ 08625
Tel: (609) 292-4999
Email: [email address]

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