Public Records Disclosure

King County is required under the Washington State Public Disclosure Act (RCW 42.56) to provide citizens with access to public records upon request. The Public Disclosure Act defines a public record as "any state or local record relating to the performance and conduct of government." Public records may be in the form of a written record, report, handwritten note or memo, e-mail, picture, disk, maps, etc.

Public agencies are required to respond to requests for records within five business days in one of three ways:

If an agency refuses to release all or part of a record to you, the agency must provide you with the specific exemption that authorizes the withholding of the record, and include a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the particular record in question.

An agency is not obligated to create a new document for you or to provide a record in a particular format. Rather, existing records must be provided in response to your request.

It is best to request public records from the agency that owns or created the record. We advise that you keep the scope of your request as narrow and specific as possible. This will save time and expense for all parties.

Charges

The Public Disclosure Act allows agencies to impose a "reasonable charge" for providing copies of public records, provided that the cost does not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the agency. Our office will charge 15 cents per page for copies. Additional charges include postage if records are mailed.

If you do not wish to pay for a copy of the record, you can request an appointment with the agency to review the record. The agency must make the record available to you during normal business hours. Our office's business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding official holidays.

Download a PDF of a "Public Disclosure Request Form" for Ombudsman records. (60 KB)

Alternate formats for persons with disabilities available upon request.