Drafting a Request

If you’ve completed the steps above, you now have a fairly good idea about what agency you are going to contact and the types of documents you are going to request. You’re also pretty sure that the documents you are asking for are not already publicly available. If that is the case, then you are ready to draft your open records act request. This section will walk you step‐by‐step through the essential parts of your request, and also suggest language to consider using depending on the nature of the request and the records that you are seeking.

2.1 The form of the request
Make written requests. Whenever possible, requests under the Colorado open records act should always be made in writing. You can make a written request by letter, email, or fax, based upon your preference and the contact information available for the agency. Although written requests are not required under the Colorado open records laws, putting your request in writing will ensure that you have documentation regarding your request. In addition, even though the law itself does not require a written request, some Colorado agencies have adopted rules which require the request to be in writing. Putting your request in writing will also ensure that you comply with any such agency rules.

Do not feel constrained by pre‐printed request forms. Some government agencies may require that you use a certain pre‐printed form in order to request records. This is particularly true of criminal justice agencies, like county sheriffs and police departments, that may have a written fill‐in‐the‐blank form for requesting criminal justice records. You can often determine in advance whether or not an agency wants requesters to use a pre‐printed form by looking on that agency’s website (look for a webpage titled “Records” or “Requesting Records”) or by calling the agency. In general, there is nothing objectionable about an agency requiring the use of a pre‐printed form, as long as the following considerations are kept in mind:

• The records you can request from a government agency cannot be artificially limited by a pre‐ printed form. If the agency is the custodian of a record, you can request it under Colorado open records laws, regardless of whether or not there is a “check‐box” for that particular record on the pre‐printed form. Most pre‐printed forms contain a space for you to identify and request “other” records that are not already identified on the form. If not, however, you can complete the pre‐printed form and then attach an additional written request that describes the record(s) you are seeking.
• If your request is complicated and you believe the government agency is going to more accurately identify the records you are seeking if you provide some background explanation regarding the request (as discussed in Section 2.3), you should not feel constrained by the pre‐ printed form. You can call the custodian and explain that your request cannot be adequately explained using the pre‐printed form. If the custodian insists that the form must be used, attach additional pages to the form explaining your request.
• If the government agency requires the use of a pre‐printed form and you cannot submit a written form because of a disability, the government agency should provide you with assistance in completing the form, or permit an oral request.

Make the request in English. Unless the agency explicitly states that requests may be made in a foreign language, the request should be made in English.

Request a receipt or assistance if you have difficulty making a written request. If you have difficulty submitting a request in writing because of a disability or for any other reason, you can make an oral request and ask the agency to provide you with a written receipt of the request. Alternatively, where possible, you may consider asking a friend, relative, or service organization to help you draft a written request.

State clearly that you are making an open records act request. At the beginning of your request, you should make clear that you are requesting records under the Colorado open records laws. You do not have to identify in advance whether the records you seek are “public records” governed by CORA or “criminal justice records” governed by CCJRA. The following opening statement is sufficient for a request:

“Please consider the following a request pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act and the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act.”

2.2 Where to send your request
Colorado open records laws direct that requests should be received by the “custodian of records” for a governmental agency. In larger government agencies, the custodian of records might a person whose sole job is to review and process open records requests. The title used for that person might be Custodian of Records, Records Manger, Public Information Officer, Records Custodian, or something similar. In smaller government agencies, the person who serves as the custodian may have an entirely different job title and deal with records requests as just one small part of his or her overall job.

The name, address and email of the custodian may be posted on the agency’s website. If not, you can always call by telephone and simply ask for the name and address (or fax or email address) of where you should send a records request.

Tip: Cover your bases! Even with thorough advance research, it occasionally happens that your request will end up in the wrong inbox or at the wrong agency. In your request, it is a good idea to ask that your request be forwarded to the proper person. This will lessen the chance that your request will be summarily denied or go missing in the wrong department. Consider adding the following language to your request: “If you are not the proper custodian of records for this request, please forward this request on to the appropriate designee.” Although the agency is not legally required to forward the request, if you’ve sent your request to the wrong place, Colorado open records laws do require that the custodian tell you where the records you are seeking are located, if that custodian knows that information.

If an agency simply refuses to provide you with information on where to send a request, you can address your request to the “Custodian of Records” and send it to the agency’s general business address.

2.3 Describe the nature of your request
Provide context and background for your request before identifying the documents you want. Even a custodian whose full‐time job is responding to requests may have trouble identifying what you are seeking without some information about the request. Furthermore, records custodians may be responsible for responding to requests related to many units and departments in the agency, each of which generates its own numerous different kinds of unique records. Do not assume that the records custodian is necessarily aware, or has ever seen, the type of document you are requesting. Instead, write your request assuming that the custodian is not familiar with the topic. Giving some background will increase the chances that the custodian will locate what you are looking for and do so in a timely manner.

The less you know about record or where to find it, the more context you should provide. The amount of context you need to provide should be roughly proportional to the complexity and breadth of the request. If you are asking for only a few easily identifiable records, you probably need to do less explaining in your request. If you are less sure about types of records you want or you are unable to identify them specifically, more descriptive background information will help the custodian locate and produce the records you seek.
Attach documents where appropriate. In some cases, attaching documents or news articles to your request can be a helpful way of identifying the documents that you are seeking. For example, suppose a news article quotes a government official referring to a letter between two agencies, and that is the record you want. By referencing the news article and attaching it to your request, it should be clear what record you are seeking even though you don’t know the date of the letter, the name of the author, or the name of the recipient. In addition, if you are requesting a new record that is referenced in another publicly available record you already have, reference and attach a copy of the record you have to your request. For example, suppose you have already obtained an internal memo that states that a public employee was disciplined for violating an internal agency policy. You want a copy of the policy, but the memo contains absolutely no information identifying the policy. Attaching the memo to your request might be the best way to identify the internal policy you are seeking.

2.4 Narrowly identify the documents you seek
In addition to providing background and context for your request, identifying the records you are seeking as specifically as you can will maximize the possibility that the documents you seek will be located and that you will get a response in a timely fashion. More importantly, the more vague and broad your request, the more power you give the records custodian to interpret your request and decide what to give you and what to withhold. Finally, keep in mind a request that is too broad or vague to be accurately interpreted at all may simply be denied. Keep the following guidelines in mind when drafting your request.

There is no numerical limit on open records act requests. Colorado’s open records law permit you to request records as many times as you want, as often as you want. If you are asking for records related to a particularly complex or broad topic, consider starting with a smaller request. There is seldom a disadvantage to starting your records quest with a smaller, narrow request, and then broadening your search with additional requests as you obtain more information about the subject matter you are investigating. A broad request may take the custodian longer to respond to, and result in exorbitant search and retrieval fees, as discussed further in Section 3.0. In addition, if a custodian cannot figure out what you are looking for, you may get charged for the production of dozens or hundreds of pages of documents that are of little relevance to your issue.

Include as many details as possible. Use full names, accurate dates, and titles of documents whenever they are known. Many criminal justice agencies use electronic databases that are searchable by name and birthdate. If you are requesting information related to a person with a common name, you may want to include a birthdate. If you are not sure of the date of an incident, a common way to indicate the date is uncertain is to use the phrase “on or about,” or to give a date range. If you can specify some, but not all of the documents that you want, the phrase “including, but not limited to” is effective way of listing a particular record you want, without precluding the production of other types of records that are responsive to your request. Below are some examples:All correspondence, whether written or electronic, between Sheriff Smith and any employee or representative of Taser International in May 2009.

• All documents related to the City’s proposal to close Emma Goldman High School including, but not limited to, all complaints made by members of the public objecting to the closure as referred to by Councilperson Smith in the May 15, 2009, Gazette article attached to this request.
• Any patrol car video recording showing the arrest of William James (D.O.B. 1/1/80) on or about January 1, 2010, at approximately 20th and Broadway.  Where appropriate, use time periods to constrain your request. The following are some examples of requests that include time frames narrowing the request
• All documents related to any reimbursements requested by or made to County Commissioner Ben Roberts between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007.
• Copies of the county’s annual environmental impact audits for the years 2002, 2007, and 2009.
• A copy of the most current Department of Motor Vehicle policy, guideline or criteria regarding the investigation and handling of citizen complaints, and any prior version of this policy from 2000 to the present.

Use the agency’s own internal tracking and identifying numbers when possible. Many government agencies use their own internal numbering systems for files, investigations, contracts, forms, and numerous other types of records. Using those identifying numbers, when available, can be an effective way of identifying the records you seek. Here are some examples:

• Copies of all requests for proposal (Form 33‐B) submitted to the housing authority from January 1, 2005 to the present.
• A copy of the entire file for internal investigation #P2009567. • All documents related to city contract B‐890‐121.

Suggest keywords or phrases for information to be retrieved from a database. Many government agencies use electronic databases to store and track information. Under Colorado open records laws, you are allowed to request information from these databases. If you are requesting information from a database, identify the keywords you want the custodian to use, for example: All records from August 8, 2009 through December 8, 2009, contained in the SQL database containing one or more of following terms: “illegal,” “unlawful,” “violation,” “discipline.”

Section 3.1 discusses the different types of fees that may be charged for retrieving records from electronic databases.

When a broad request is necessary, invite the custodian’s participation in narrowing the request. In some circumstances, making a broad, general subject request is unavoidable because of nature of the issue you are researching, or because a custodian is unwilling to discuss in advance the types of records that the agency keeps. In those instances, you can try to minimize the chance of a massive or unfocused search by including language similar to the below in your request: “I realize that the records requested may be quite voluminous. If this is the case, please give me a call and I would be happy to discuss with you what records are in your custody and how I can narrow the scope of the request to minimize any burden on your staff while still providing the information sought in the request.”

Tip: Try a sample! In cases where you are requesting a large amount of records, you can try to arrange for the production of some smaller portion of records initially, before deciding whether or not you want the remainder. For example, suppose you have requested all documents related to every city contract for the calendar year 2008. The custodian tells you that there are 100 files responsive to your request, and that each file is composed of a summary that is 1‐2 pages, the actual contract which is 5‐6 pages, and a request for proposal which is usually 25 pages. You might ask to review 2 or 3 of these files in their entirety before deciding what you want to copy.

For example, after a review of a few files, you might decide that copies of just the summary pages are sufficient for your purposes.
Other strategies for narrowing the scope of the custodian’s search are discussed in Section 3.2 in the context of minimizing fees.

2.5 Requesting electronic production
The Colorado open records laws do not allow you to dictate the manner in which the records are produced. Many custodians, however, are happy to produce documents in electronic format if requested, which avoids the need for making physical copies. Unless you definitely want the records produced in physical form, consider requesting the records in electronic format, using language similar to that below: “If the records are in electronic form or can be scanned and sent by email, I request to receive those records solely by electronic means to [insert your email address].”

2.6 Requesting your own records/using authorizations for release
In some circumstances, Colorado’s laws prevent public disclosure of records where a person’s privacy interests are involved, especially if that person is not a government official or employee and the record does not pertain to any government function or business. For example, medical records are generally protected as confidential and cannot be obtained by third parties through an open records request. In many cases, however, you can obtain records that are normally confidential if those records pertain to you, you have a close legal relationship with the person whose records you seek, or you can demonstrate that the person whose records you are requesting consents to you receiving their records. Follow the following guidelines below when requesting records under these circumstances.

• If the records you seek pertain to you (for example, you are requesting your own mental health records, jail records, juvenile records, etc.) make sure that you state so clearly in your request.
• If you have a significant legal relationship with the person whose record you seek, such as a parent, guardian, guardian ad litem, conservator, power of attorney, etc., make sure that you state so clearly in your request. Attach authorizing documentation as appropriate, or offer to provide such documentation if requested by the custodian.
• If you are an organization or individual making a request on behalf of another person, have that person sign a release and attach a copy to your request.

2.7 Make an advance request for statement explaining any delay or denial
If the custodian withholds records that are responsive to your request, both CORA and CCJRA require the custodian to state in writing the legal authority for withholding those records, upon your request for such an explanation. Likewise, if you request, the custodian is also required to explain the reason for any delay in producing records, and to tell you a time and date when the documents will be available.

You can ask the custodian in advance for these written explanations by including language similar to the following in your initial request: If you deny this request for records in whole or in part, I ask that you provide a written statement explaining the reason for the denial that cites the legal authority that is the basis for the denial. If any of the requested records are in active use, in storage or otherwise unavailable at this time, I likewise request that you provide a written statement informing me of the reason they are currently unavailable and a date and hour at which time the records will be available for inspection.

Reviewing the sufficiency of the custodian’s response to these requests is discussed in Section 5.0.

2.8 Finishing touches
Include contact information. Do not forget to include your name, address, fax and email, as appropriate, to ensure that the custodian has a way to contact you to discuss your request and/or to send you the response to your request.

Keep copies for your own records. Make a copy your initial request and every subsequent communication you send to the custodian, and keep it in a file for your own records. If you are communicating with the custodian over email, consider saving an electronic copy of your email on a separate backup drive, or printing out the email and putting it in a file as a backup copy.