File an Open Records Complaint

By law, governmental entities are required to give requestors of public records a response within 10 business days – either in writing, electronically or otherwise in print.

So when they don’t respond within that 10-day window, requestors have two options:

1) Play nice and wait longer.

Or, my favorite,

2) Send an Open Records Act Complaint to your respective District Attorney (attach the original request with your complaint.)

It’s very simple.

Here’s what you should copy/paste and attach with your original request should a governmental entity not comply:

Open Records Act Complaint
Date: ______________

Dear District Attorney [NAME GOES HERE],

Please accept this letter as an official complaint against [GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY NAME] for open records violations. I requested information (see attached exhibits) _________________ months/days/weeks/years ago and was not provided with the standard 10-day response with my information or attempts to obtain the requested information.

If I may be of assistance on this matter, or you need me to provide any further documentation, please do not hesitate to contact me at ______________________________ or ___________________. Thank you.

NAME GOES HERE
SIGNATURE
TITLE (if any)

Some counties might have county/district attorneys (as in the case of Ellis County), so word your complaint in that manner.

Thanks to a friend in Lancaster for the inspiration on this template. This will be posted permanently under the About tab at the top.