Submit a Public Information Request

Section 552.221 specifies the duties of the officer for public information upon receiving a request for public information. An officer for public information of a governmental body shall promptly produce public information. The City of Austin has designated 10 business days to release available responsive information.  If it cannot be produced within 10 working days the public information officer will notify you in writing of the reasonable date and time when it will be available.  “Promptly” means that a governmental body may take a reasonable amount of time to produce the information but may not delay.

• The City of Austin receives your public information request.
• The appropriate City departments will be assigned to process your request.
• Departments assigned to the request will begin gathering and reviewing information to promptly provide all the responsive information available.
• The City of Austin may contact you if any of the following are needed:
  • Clarification, to better understand what information is being requested
  • A possible cost estimate to cover locating, compiling, and redacting the responsive information
  • To notify you of sensitive information the City needs to redact or withhold
• On the 8th business day, the City of Austin will provide you with a status update for your public information request.
• Upon completion of the request, the City of Austin will notify you if there is no responsive information or release any responsive information available to you.

Complaints

For complaints regarding the public information process, you may contact the Office of the Attorney General. You may also call the Open Records Hotline at 512-478-6736 or toll-free at 1-877-673-6839.

We also encourage you to contact the City of Austin Public Information Manager at 512-978-1870 regarding your public information concerns.

Customer Service for City of Austin Open Records

For questions about COA Public Information Requests (PIR) please email PIRCustomerService@austintexas.gov or call 512-974-2197.

Customer Service for City of Austin Police Department Records

For questions about APD Public Information Requests (PIR) please call 512-974-5212 or 512-974-5499.

Section 552.261 - There is no initial fee for submitting a public information request. However, the City of Austin may charge fees for providing a copy of the public information requested.  The charge for providing a copy of public information shall be an amount that reasonably includes all costs related to reproducing the public information, including costs for materials, labor, and overhead. 

Attorney General's Charges for Public Information Presentation (545KB)
Public Information Act Cost Rules 101 (819KB)

Copy rates

Governmental bodies shall release requested information as promptly as possible, unless the information is exempt from disclosure under the Public Information Act. The City of Austin uses the rates established by the Office of the Attorney General to determine charges for copies of public records. At the discretion of the staff member responding to a request, fees may be waived when there are a minimal number of responsive documents.

Requests exceeding $40

If the cost of a request is expected to exceed $40, a staff member will send an estimate letter to the requestor. The letter will include an itemized statement of any copying, personnel or mailing charges that will be incurred in fulfilling the request. Once the requestor confirms that he or she agrees to the estimated costs, a staff member will begin compiling the records. If a requestor does not respond within 10 days, the file will be closed.

Common charges

• Paper (single-sided, black and white, standard size) - $0.10 / page
• Oversize paper, not including maps and photographs - $0.50 / page
• CD - $1 each
• Diskette - $1 each
• Audio cassette - $1 each
• VHS cassette - $2.50 each
• DVD - $3 each
• Off site record retrieval - $45.00 fee
• Labor Charges
• Personnel time for locating, compiling and reproducing records (if less than 50 pages of paper copies are requested, no personnel costs are charged) - $15 / hour
• Computer Programming - $28.50 / hour
• Overhead - 20% of the personnel or programming charge

Please include as much detailed information as possible when submitting a public information request. The more detailed information you provide us with, the quicker the department can provide the records to you.

Examples are as follows:

• Specific date range
• Specific address
• Keywords or phrases regarding the information being requested
• If known, select the department the information is being requested from. If not, do not worry as it will be automatically routed.

If you do not provide enough detail in your public information request description of the specific information or records you are requesting, the City of Austin may contact you asking for clarification for the necessary information needed to conduct the search for records. 

Some public information is confidential by statute. If information is confidential by statute, a governmental body generally cannot release the information under the PIA. Governmental bodies also maintain information that is not confidential by statute. A governmental body has the option to withhold non-confidential information in certain circumstances.

Read more about confidential information on the Attorney General webpage.

You have the right to:

• Receive prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected;
• Receive treatment equal to all other requestors, including accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements;
• Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions, like the voting record of public officials, and other information;
• Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information, or both;
• A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body determines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public;
• Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy;
• Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the General Services Commission. Complaints of other possible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than a state agency, is located. If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

All governmental bodies responding to information requests have the responsibility to:

• Establish reasonable procedures for inspecting or copying public information and inform requestors of these procedures;
• Treat all requestors uniformly and shall give to the requestor all reasonable comfort and facility, including accommodation in accordance with ADA requirements;
• Be informed about open records laws and educate employees on the requirements of those laws;
• Inform requestors of the estimated charges greater than $40 and any changes in the estimates above 20 percent of the original estimate, and confirm that the requestor accepts the charges, or has amended the request, in writing before finalizing the request;
• Inform the requestor if the information cannot be provided promptly and set a date and time to provide it within a reasonable time;
• Request a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General regarding any information the governmental body wishes to withhold, and send a copy of the request for ruling, or a redacted copy, to the requestor;
• Isolate public information from information that may be withheld and provide that public information promptly;
• Make a good faith attempt to inform third parties when their proprietary information is being requested from the governmental body;
• Respond in writing to all written communications from the General Services Commission regarding charges for the information. Respond to the Office of the Attorney General regarding complaints about violations of the Act

• Submit a request for public information
• Find details about building permits, applications, etc.
• Filing a claim information
• Office of Attorney General Open Government Information
• Public Information Act Handbook (3.2MB)
• City of Austin Open Data Portal
• Submit a service request to Austin 3-1-1
• Austin Municipal Court Case/Citation Database
• Austin Police Department
• Austin Police Department Incident Report Database
• Austin Police Department Events
• Austin Police Department Body Cam Information
• Austin Police Department Datasets and Reports
• Office of Police Oversight

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the public information process.

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