The City of Los Angeles (City) is committed to transparent and open government practices. The City responds to requests for public records pursuant to the California Public Records Act (CPRA), Government Code sections 6250 et seq.
What Is a Public Record and Exemptions
The California Government Code defines a public record as “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.” The CPRA provides exemptions that give the City discretion to withhold certain sorts of records from production in whole or in part. These include but are not limited to records containing personal identifying information (for example, medical information or, in most circumstances, a home address), records protected by an attorney-client privilege or deliberative-process privilege, and records where the public interest in withholding the records clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosing them.
All information contained in a CPRA request, including a requester's information, is considered public record, and may be subject to public inspection, pursuant to Government Code section 6252(e). Requesters should bear this in mind when making a CPRA request to the City.
Time to Respond
Government Code section 6253(c) gives City departments 10 calendar days to make a determination in response to a CPRA request. In certain circumstances, a department may extend its time to make that determination by an additional 14 calendar days. If a City department extends the time, the department will notify the requesting party in writing within the initial 10-day period of the reason(s) for the extension and the estimated date of determination.
Form of Production
After conducting a reasonable and diligent search City departments provide responsive records as soon as possible. Electronic records will be made available in pdf format. Other formats (e.g., EML and MBOX), if sought by the requester under California Government Code § 6253.9 (a)(1), may also be available depending on the technical capabilities of a particular department
How to Submit a CPRA Request
Requests should be sent directly to the department the requester believes to be in possession of responsive records based on the content of the request. If the receiving department does not possess responsive records, the receiving department will close the request and refer the requester to a different department potentially in possession of responsive records. Public records requests may be directed to City departments listed in the directory below.