Kentucky Open Records Act Request

KENTUCKY OPEN RECORDS ACT REQUEST

(KRS 61.870 through 61.884)

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. Kentucky's Open Records Act generally grants inspection rights to a “resident of the Commonwealth.” KRS 61.870(10) includes an individual residing in Kentucky; certain domestic or registered foreign businesses; an individual employed and working in Kentucky; an individual or business owning Kentucky real property; an authorized representative of one of those persons or entities; and a qualifying news-gathering organization.
2. The official custodian may require a signed written application with the requester's printed name, a description of the records, and a statement explaining how the requester qualifies under KRS 61.870(10)(a) through (f). An agency may not require its own particular form. KRS 61.872(2).
3. Send the request by hand delivery, mail, facsimile, or email to the official custodian or designee at the address identified in the agency's open-records rules. KRS 61.872(2)(b).
4. The agency must decide whether to comply and notify the requester in writing within five days after receipt, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. A partial or complete denial must identify the specific exception and briefly explain how it applies. KRS 61.880(1).
5. If a record is in active use, storage, or otherwise unavailable, the custodian must immediately notify the requester and ordinarily identify an inspection place, time, and date no later than five days after receipt. A longer delay requires a detailed explanation and the earliest availability date. KRS 61.872(5).
6. For a noncommercial request, records maintained electronically must be available in standard electronic or standard hard-copy format as the requester designates. Records maintained only in hard copy need not be converted to electronic format. KRS 61.874(2).
7. Noncommercial copying fees may not exceed actual reproduction cost, including media and mechanical processing, and may not include staff cost. A nonstandard or tailored format is discretionary and may include staff cost. Commercial-purpose requests follow separate fee and certification rules. KRS 61.874(3)-(5).
8. A request is not a contract. Delete unused bracketed instructions and do not add warranties, covenants, defaults, cure periods, indemnities, force majeure, arbitration clauses, jury waivers, assignment restrictions, integration clauses, or execution formalities.

REQUEST LETTER

Date: [DATE]

Method: [EMAIL / MAIL / FACSIMILE / HAND DELIVERY]

To:
[OFFICIAL CUSTODIAN OF RECORDS / DESIGNEE]
[PUBLIC AGENCY]
[OFFICE OR DIVISION]
[ADDRESS / EMAIL / FACSIMILE]

From:
[REQUESTER NAME]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
[EMAIL]
[TELEPHONE]

Re: Kentucky Open Records Act Request — [SUBJECT]

Dear Official Custodian:

Under KRS 61.870 through 61.884, I request inspection and/or copies of the public records described below.

1. Kentucky Resident Statement

I qualify as a resident of the Commonwealth under KRS 61.870(10) because:

• ☐ I am an individual residing in Kentucky;
• ☐ I am submitting this request for a domestic business entity with a Kentucky location;
• ☐ I am submitting this request for a foreign business entity registered with the Kentucky Secretary of State;
• ☐ I am employed and work at one or more Kentucky locations;
• ☐ I, or the business entity for which I submit this request, own Kentucky real property;
• ☐ I am authorized to act for a person or entity identified above; or
• ☐ I am submitting this request for a qualifying news-gathering organization.

Facts supporting the selected basis, if useful: [DETAILS]

2. Records Requested

1. [DESCRIBE THE FIRST RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
2. [DESCRIBE THE SECOND RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
3. [ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMIZED REQUESTS.]

Date range: [START DATE] through [END DATE]

Relevant office, official, employee, contractor, project, contract, incident, matter, or file number: [DETAILS]

Helpful custodians, email addresses, search terms, databases, or data fields: [DETAILS]

This request seeks existing records that the agency possesses or retains. If clarification would help identify responsive records or reduce cost, please contact me at [EMAIL / TELEPHONE].

3. Inspection, Copies, Format, and Delivery

I request:

• ☐ inspection during regular office hours;
• ☐ electronic copies in a standard electronic format in which the agency maintains the records;
• ☐ paper copies;
• ☐ inspection first, with copies selected afterward; or
• ☐ another available method: [METHOD].

Preferred delivery or inspection method: [EMAIL / SECURE LINK / APPOINTMENT / MAIL / PICKUP].

[OPTIONAL NONCOMMERCIAL STATEMENT: I certify that the records are requested for a noncommercial purpose as “commercial purpose” is defined in KRS 61.870(4). The intended use is: [DESCRIBE NONCOMMERCIAL USE].]

4. Fees and Cost Communication

I authorize lawful fees up to $[AMOUNT]. Please provide an estimate and obtain my written approval before exceeding that amount.

If this is a noncommercial request, please limit any charge for standard copies to actual reproduction cost, including media and mechanical processing, without staff cost, as required by KRS 61.874(3). Please contact me before producing a nonstandard or tailored format that may involve staff cost.

[OPTIONAL DISCRETIONARY REQUEST: Please waive or reduce fees to the extent agency policy permits because disclosure will serve the public interest through [EXPLANATION]. This does not assert a statutory right to a waiver.]

5. Five-Business-Day Response and Any Withholding

Please determine whether to comply and send the written response required by KRS 61.880(1) within five days after receipt, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

If any responsive record or portion is withheld, please:

1. identify the specific exception authorizing the withholding;
2. briefly explain how the exception applies to the withheld material; and
3. separate exempt material and provide all nonexempt material as required by KRS 61.878(4).

If a record is in active use, storage, or otherwise unavailable, please provide the notice required by KRS 61.872(5), including the place, time, and date for inspection. If availability will be delayed beyond five days after receipt, please provide a detailed explanation and the earliest date the record will be available.

If you do not have custody or control of a requested record, please identify the name and location of the official custodian as required by KRS 61.872(4).

Thank you for your assistance.

Respectfully,

__________________________________
[REQUESTER SIGNATURE]

Printed name: [REQUESTER NAME]

Title / organization, if any: [DETAILS]

Date: [DATE]

POST-SUBMISSION AND ENFORCEMENT NOTES

• Keep the record: Preserve the signed request, proof of receipt, agency response, cost communications, payment, production, and any withholding explanation.
• Attorney General review: A requester seeking review of a denial sends the Kentucky Attorney General a copy of the written request and the written denial. If the agency did not provide a written response, send a copy of the request. The Attorney General ordinarily issues a written decision within twenty days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, subject to the statutory extension for unusual circumstances. KRS 61.880(2).
• Delay, fees, and misdirection: Written complaints to the Attorney General may also address conduct short of a denial, including excessive fees, delay beyond the five-day period, excessive extensions, or misdirection. KRS 61.880(4).
• Thirty days after Attorney General decision: A party has thirty days from the Attorney General's decision to appeal it. If no timely appeal is filed, the decision has the force and effect of law and is enforceable in the proper Circuit Court. KRS 61.880(5).
• Direct court action: A person need not complete Attorney General review before filing an original enforcement action. Proper venue is the Circuit Court of the county where the agency has its principal place of business or where the record is maintained. The agency bears the burden of proof in an original action and in a properly filed appeal of an Attorney General decision. KRS 61.882(1)-(3).
• Costs, attorney fees, and daily award: If the requester prevails and the court finds willful withholding, the court may award costs, including reasonable attorney fees. The court also has discretion to award no more than $25 for each day the requester was denied inspection or copying. These awards are not automatic and the daily amount is not calculated per record. KRS 61.882(5).
• Get legal advice promptly: Exemptions, Kentucky-resident status, commercial-purpose classifications, fee disputes, venue, and enforcement strategy are fact-sensitive.

CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.870, definitions
• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.872, resident access and request procedures
• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.874, formats and fees
• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.878, exemptions and separation
• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.880, response and Attorney General review
• Kentucky Legislature — KRS 61.882, Circuit Court enforcement