OFFICE OF THE LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY FREEDOM OF INFORMATION UNIT

PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST GUIDELINES

Californians have a fundamental right to open government and access to public records, which
is codified in the California Public Records Act (CPRA) at Government Code §6250 et seq. To
facilitate your exercise of this right, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has adopted these
guidelines for public inspection and copying of public records:

1. Public records subject to inspection and copying include any writings, meaning handwriting,
typewriting, printing, photographing, and every other means of recording upon any form of
communication or representation, including information available electronically.

2. The City Attorney’s Office can only respond to requests for documents in its possession. If
you would like documents from another City Department, please submit your request to
that Department directly. The City of Los Angeles website, www.lacity.org, has a list of City
Departments.

3. If your request is for records in the possession of the City Attorney’s Office, please submit it
to the attention of the Freedom Of Information Unit. Although not required, putting your
request in writing avoids confusion and assists in responding to your request. A public
records request form is available for your use by on the City Attorney’s web site at
www.lacity.org/atty.

4. Your request should be clear enough so that the City Attorney’s Office can identify, locate
and retrieve the requested records. To expedite your request, please be as specific as
possible. Useful information may include a case number, party name, or property address.

5. The City Attorney’s Office will review your request promptly. We will notify you within 10
days whether the requested records are available for inspection and copying and whether
any documents are exempt from disclosure. In unusual circumstances, the CPRA allows
the office up to an additional 14 days to respond.

6. Some of the records you request may be exempt from disclosure under the CPRA. A list of
exemptions is available at Government Code §§ 6254 and 6255.

7. Copies of non-exempt documents cost $1.00 for the first page and 10 cents for every page
thereafter. Copies will be provided to you upon payment of the costs of duplication.

8/5/04
 Request ID Number:____________________

Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney

Freedom of Information Unit
Public Records Request

Request Received Request Completed/Notification Given Request Picked-Up/Mailed/Faxed

(Date Stamp) (Date Stamp) (Date Stamp)

Staff Initials: ________ Date Due: ________ Staff Initials: _______ Staff Initials: ________
How Request Was Received Notification Completion

Walk-In Mail Fax Assigned to: ________________________ Pick-Up Faxed

st
Phone Email 1 Response: ________________________
Mailed Other ________
nd
Other ________ 2 Response: ________________________

To Be Completed by the Requestor

Name of Requestor: Phone: Fax:

Agency/Company:

Address: Email:

Requested Documents (Please be as specific as possible)

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

For Office Use Only

Copies Faxes
Number of Pages: Number of Pages: Copy Charges: $

Rev 10/14/04 ks