How Do I Request Records?
Under Oregon law, documents created by public agencies in the course of their operations are considered public records, ORS 192.311(5). State law provides a procedure for members of the public and for public agencies to follow when requesting or responding to a request for inspection and examining or records. Those procedures are covered under ORS 192.311-192.431.
If you wish to examine or obtain copies of records held by this office, or wish to appeal an adverse public records decision by a local agency, please submit your request in writing. Be sure to mark the subject field as follows, ATTN: Public Records:
By email: DAOffice@washingtoncountyor.gov
By Mail: 150 N First Avenue, Suite 300, MS-40
Hillsboro, OR 97124-3002
By fax: (503) 846-8707
Please identify the records you wish to receive in as much detail as possible. The more specific and narrow your request, the faster we can respond.
ORS 192.324 permits a public agency to charge fees not to exceed its actual costs in making records available. For additional information about our fees visit Washington County District Attorney Public Records Fees. If your request is primarily in the public interest, upon request, we will consider waiving or reducing our fees.
If you wish to examine records of another public agency, please make that request directly to that agency. If you wish to examine police reports, you should consider requesting them from the police department that created the police reports.
Appealing a Denied Request
If you have been denied access to public records held by another public agency and wish to appeal that decision, you should first obtain a written denial of your request from that agency. If the agency holding the records is a state agency, you must contact the Attorney General for your appeal.
If the agency is a city, county or other local agency in Washington County, you should submit your appeal request as described above. After receiving your appeal request, we will make a determination as to whether the public agency acted appropriately under the Public Records law. If it is determined that the agency did not act appropriately in denying your request for records, then we will order the agency to release them. The public agency that denied the records request has the burden of proving that the record information is exempt from disclosure.
An excellent resource on the Public Records law can be found on the Attorney General’s public records website, particularly the Public Records and Meetings Manual.
The Washington County District Attorney is committed to the principle that the Public Records law is primarily a disclosure law, not a confidentiality law.
