§ 1 §408-A — Public records available for inspection and copying

Except as otherwise provided by statute, a person has the right to inspect and copy any public record in accordance with this section within a reasonable time of making the request to inspect or copy the public record.
1.
Inspect.
A person may inspect any public record during reasonable office hours. An agency or official may not charge a fee for inspection unless the public record cannot be inspected without being converted or compiled, in which case the agency or official may charge a fee as provided in subsection 8.
2.
Copy.
A person may copy a public record in the office of the agency or official having custody of the public record during reasonable office hours or may request that the agency or official having custody of the record provide a copy. The agency or official may charge a fee for copies as provided in subsection 8.
3.
Acknowledgment; clarification; time estimate; cost estimate.
The agency or official having custody or control of a public record shall acknowledge receipt of a request made according to this section within 5 working days of receiving the request and may request clarification concerning which public record or public records are being requested. Within a reasonable time of receiving the request, the agency or official shall provide a good faith, nonbinding estimate of the time frame within which the agency or official will comply with the request and a cost estimate as provided in subsection 9. The agency or official shall make a good faith effort to fully respond to the request within the estimated time frame. For purposes of this subsection, the date a request is received is the date a sufficient description of the public record is received by the agency or official at the office responsible for maintaining the public record. An agency or official that receives a request for a public record that is maintained by that agency but is not maintained by the office that received the request shall forward the request to the office of the agency or official that maintains the record, without willful delay, and shall notify the requester that the request has been forwarded and that the office to which the request has been forwarded will acknowledge receipt within 5 working days of receiving the request.
4.
Refusals; denials.
If a body or an agency or official having custody or control of any public record refuses permission to inspect or copy or abstract a public record, the body or agency or official shall provide, within 5 working days of the receipt of the request for inspection or copying, written notice of the denial, stating the reason for the denial or the expectation that the request will be denied in full or in part following a review. A written notice of a denial must contain a citation to the statutory authority used as the basis for the denial. A request or series of requests for inspection or copying may be denied, in whole or in part, on the basis that the request or series of requests is unduly burdensome or oppressive if the procedures established in subsection 4‑A are followed. Failure to comply with this subsection is considered failure to allow inspection or copying and is subject to appeal as provided in section 409.
4-A.
Action for protection.
A body, an agency or an official may seek protection from a request or series of requests for inspection or copying that is unduly burdensome or oppressive by filing an action for an order of protection in the Superior Court for the county where the request or series of requests for records was made within 60 days of receipt of the request or the date on which the body, agency or official notifies the requester that the series of requests is unduly burdensome or oppressive.
5.
Schedule.
Inspection, conversion pursuant to subsection 7 and copying of a public record subject to a request under this section may be scheduled to occur at a time that will not delay or inconvenience the regular activities of the agency or official having custody or control of the public record requested. If the agency or official does not have regular office hours, the name and telephone number of a contact person authorized to provide access to the agency's or official's records must be posted in a conspicuous public place and at the office of the agency or official, if an office exists.
6.
No requirement to create new record.
An agency or official is not required to create a record that does not exist.
7.
Electronically stored public records.
An agency or official having custody or control of a public record subject to a request under this section shall provide access to an electronically stored public record either as a printed document of the public record or in the medium in which the record is stored, at the requester's option, except that the agency or official is not required to provide access to an electronically stored public record as a computer file if the agency or official does not have the ability to separate or prevent the disclosure of confidential information contained in or associated with that file.
8.
Payment of costs.
Except as otherwise specifically provided by law or court order, an agency or official having custody of a public record may charge fees for public records as follows.
9.
Estimate.
The agency or official having custody or control of a public record subject to a request under this section shall provide to the requester an estimate of the time frame within which the agency or official will comply with the request and of the total cost as provided by subsection 8. If the estimate of the total cost is greater than $50, the agency or official shall inform the requester before proceeding. If the estimate of the total cost is greater than $100, subsection 10 applies.
10.
Payment in advance.
The agency or official having custody or control of a public record subject to a request under this section may require a requester to pay all or a portion of the estimated costs to complete the request prior to the search, retrieval, compiling, conversion and copying of the public record if:
11.
Waivers.
The agency or official having custody or control of a public record subject to a request under this section may waive part or all of the total fee charged pursuant to subsection 8 if:
12.
Retention of fees or costs.
An agency may retain any fees or costs charged under this section.

Legislative History

PL 2011, c. 662, §5 (NEW). PL 2013, c. 350, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 248, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 249, §1 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 317, §1 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 494, Pt. A, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 158, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 288, Pt. A, §1 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 313, §1 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 375, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 155, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 175, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 186, §1 (AMD).