Unlike the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Idaho’s own Public Records Act makes it very easy for citizens to request copies of government records. Our state law requires government agencies at all levels to respond to requests quickly. The law also assumes that all public records, unless expressly exempted by law, are disclosable. The Office of the Attorney General publishes an informative guide to help citizens request public information.
Submit a Public Records Request
To submit a public records request, complete this form. Be specific about the document(s) you are requesting. After submitting your request, the screen will display verification that your request has been sent.
Include only one public records request per form submission. IDL can only fulfill requests for which it is the custodian of the records.
Idaho State Code exempts certain documents from public disclosure. If the record you request is exempt from disclosure you will be notified. USING ANY LIST AS A MAILING LIST OR TELEPHONE LIST IS PROHIBITED BY IDAHO CODE §74-120 AND PUNISHABLE BY A CIVIL PENALTY UP TO $1,000.
Learn More About Public Records Requests
“Public record,” as defined by the Idaho Code, is an extremely broad concept. It “includes, but is not limited to, any writing containing information relating to the conduct or administration of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state agency, independent public body corporate and politic or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. Provided, however, that personal notes created by a public official solely for his own use shall not be a public record as long as such personal notes are not shared with any other person or entity.”
The law includes definitions and a simple, uniform procedure for inspection and copying of records. Sections 74-104 through 74-111 list the records that are exempt from disclosure. Finally, more than one hundred sections of existing Idaho Code relating to confidentiality of records are cross-referenced to the law.
The intent of the law is that all records maintained by state and local government entities be available for public access and copying. At the same time, the Legislature recognized the need to balance this policy of openness against the equally important need for privacy of certain information provided by citizens and businesses that is necessary for the conduct of the government’s business. This balance is contained in Idaho Code § 74-102, which states that “all public records in Idaho are open at all reasonable times for inspection except as otherwise expressly provided by statute.”
Agencies may establish a fee to recover such labor costs for voluminous or complex requests, or requests that involve locating archival information. In addition, if an agency must incur additional expense to provide access to records during other than normal working hours, or requires the services of outside contract copying companies, or overtime on the part of its own employees, the agency may require advance payment to compensate for this additional expense.
Agencies are allowed to require advance payment of the costs of copying and labor costs.
Idaho Public Records Law Manual
IDL's Public Records Request Policy
Fee Schedule
- No charge for the first 100 copies
- No charge for the first 2 hours of research/labor time
- Fees will not be charged unless the total exceeds $40.00
| Request Type | Price |
|---|---|
| Paper copies or scans | $0.10 per page |
| Paper copies nonstandard size | Actual cost – varies depending on size |
| Labor, research, and evaluation time | Bureau staff per hour pay rate |
| Labor, electronic file search | IT staff per hour pay rate |
| Labor, administrative time | Administrative staff per hour pay rate |
| Labor, redactions, and attorney-client privileged review | Attorney staff per hour pay rate |
| USB | $5.00 |
| Publication(s) | Actual cost |
| Postage | Actual cost |