Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law

Response Timeline

5 BUSINESS days to respond (grant, deny, or invoke extension). Extension of up to 30 CALENDAR days allowed for: off-site records, staffing issues, legal review, complex requests, unpaid fees, or requester not following agency policy. Failure to respond within 5 days = deemed denial, allowing immediate appeal.

Pennsylvania has no residency requirement. Any person may request records regardless of citizenship, residency, or purpose.

How to Submit a Request

Accepted Methods

• Mail
• Fax
• Email
• In person
• Portal

Agencies must accept the OOR Standard Request Form. Many agencies also have online portals. Requests should identify records with sufficient specificity.

Email or portal?

The agency must accept a written request sent by ordinary means, including email, and may not reject it solely because it did not come through an online portal.

The Right-to-Know Law requires a written request to pursue its relief and remedies (65 P.S. § 67.702), then names the channels a written request may use: in person, by mail, by e-mail, by facsimile, or -- only 'to the extent provided by agency rules' -- by any other electronic means (§ 67.703). Person, mail, e-mail, and facsimile are therefore an unconditional statutory floor; a portal is the ONLY channel the statute lets an agency's own rules gate. Because email is named directly, alongside mail and in-person delivery, as a channel the statute itself guarantees, an agency cannot lawfully make an online portal the exclusive way to submit a request. A written request must be addressed to the agency's designated open-records officer (§ 67.502, § 67.703), so the channel guarantee is that email reaches that officer, not that any email address will do.

• 65 P.S. § 67.702 (writing required to pursue relief and remedies)
• 65 P.S. § 67.703 (written request channels; e-mail named; portal gated on agency rules)

No controlling case identified specifically on the submission-channel question. The verdict rests on the plain text of § 703, which names email directly and gates only 'any other electronic means' (a portal) on the agency's own rules. Bowling v. Office of Open Records and Levy v. Senate of Pennsylvania control separate questions (the standard of review, and waiver of unraised denial grounds) and neither addresses channel.

Pennsylvania agencies vary widely: the Office of Open Records publishes a statewide directory of open-records officers (§ 1310(a)(7)), and many larger agencies additionally run a portal or accept the OOR's own uniform request form, while most boroughs, townships, and school districts publish only the open-records officer's email address. Our records data for Pennsylvania lists mail, fax, email, in-person, and portal as accepted methods, consistent with a portal being an addition, not a replacement, for the statute's named channels.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30.

Required Elements

• Name — Requester's name
• Address — Address to receive response (mailing or email)
• Record description — Identify records sought with sufficient specificity to enable agency to ascertain which records are being requested

Optional Elements

• Preferred format — May request records in specific format (paper, electronic)
• Fee waiver request — May request agency waive fees
• Expedited processing — May explain need for expedited response (agency discretion)

Fees

Pennsylvania prohibits agencies from charging for search time, staff time, legal review, or redaction. Only duplication and material costs are chargeable. Agencies may withhold records if requester has unpaid fees from prior requests.

Fee Waivers

• All fees may be waived at the discretion of the agency
• Agency may waive fees for requesters who cannot afford them

Fee waivers are entirely at agency discretion. No statutory categories for automatic waivers. Agencies are encouraged to waive fees for requests that serve the public interest.

Exemptions

• Personal security / loss of funds
  Records whose disclosure would result in loss of federal/state funds or substantial risk of physical harm to an individual
• Public safety
  Military, homeland security, law enforcement, or safety records that would jeopardize or threaten public safety
• Personal identification
  Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, personal phone/email, spouse names, home addresses of law enforcement/judges
• Personnel records
  Performance reviews, employment applications, disciplinary records, grievances, academic transcripts
• Internal deliberations
  Predecisional deliberations, internal agency policy/budget strategy. Excludes factual records and final agency decisions
• Trade secrets
  Trade secrets and confidential proprietary business information submitted by a private entity
• Criminal investigations
  Criminal investigation records including complaints, investigative materials, confidential sources, victim information
• Non-criminal investigations
  Non-criminal investigative records including complaints, investigative materials, and records revealing investigation progress
• 911 recordings
  Emergency dispatch recordings unless public interest in disclosure outweighs confidentiality interests
• Minor identification
  Names, home addresses, or birthdates of children under 18

Pennsylvania RTKL contains 30 exemption categories in Section 708(b). Records are presumed public unless exempt. Burden of proof is on the agency to demonstrate exemption applies. Agencies must provide specific legal basis for each exemption claimed.

Appeal Process

Pennsylvania has one of the strongest administrative appeal processes in the US. The Office of Open Records (OOR) provides free, binding adjudication of appeals within 30 days. OOR issues detailed written decisions with legal analysis. Alternative mediation program available. Appeals officers for legislative agencies (Senate, House) and judicial agencies handle those bodies' appeals.

Request Templates

Records Retention

204 Pa. Code 213.51; Management Directive 210.5

View retention law →

Retention schedule catalog →

Records management is governed by Executive Order 1992-1 and Management Directive 210.5 rather than a single unified statute. The County Records Act creates a County Records Committee; the Municipal Records Act creates a Local Government Records Committee. PHMC administers retention schedules for all Executive Branch agencies.

Sources & References

• Full text of law →
• Primary source →
• RCFP Open Government Guide — Pennsylvania →
• NFOIC State FOI Resources →

Bodies Covered

Which kinds of public body this law applies to, with the statutory basis for each claim.

Coverage notes

• Requester standing: a US-residency floor, not a Pennsylvania one The RTKL defines 'Requester' as 'a person that is a legal resident of the United States' (§ 102); a corporation is a 'person' under the Statutory Construction Act (1 Pa.C.S. § 1991). This is a real limit, unlike Ohio's, Georgia's, or Arizona's true 'any person' language, but it is the OPPOSITE shape from Virginia's citizens-of-the-Commonwealth rule: it screens for US residency, not Commonwealth residency. The Office of Open Records has held the same, directly: Shakur Capital, LLC v. Philadelphia Police Department, OOR Docket No. AP 2021-2243 (Final Determination, Dec. 16, 2021), ruled an LLC is a 'person' and so a valid 'requester' once it also shows US residency (persuasive administrative authority, not a court holding). A nonprofit corporation organized and headquartered in the United States satisfies it. 65 P.S. § 67.102 (definition of 'Requester': a legal resident of the United States) · Shakur Capital, LLC v. Philadelphia Police Department, OOR Docket No. AP 2021-2243 (Pa. OOR Final Determination, Dec. 16, 2021)
• Writing is required to pursue relief, and email is a named channel An agency may fulfill a verbal request, but a requester who wants the RTKL's relief and remedies (the five-day clock, the deemed-denial rule, the right to appeal) must submit a WRITTEN request (§ 702). Section 703 then names how: in person, by mail, by e-mail, by facsimile, or (only to the extent the agency's own rules allow) by any other electronic means -- person/mail/e-mail/facsimile are an unconditional floor; only a portal is gated on agency rules. No agency may make a portal the exclusive channel, because email is one of the statute's own named methods. 65 P.S. § 67.702 (writing required to pursue relief and remedies) § 67.703 (written request submitted in person, by mail, by e-mail, by facsimile, or by other electronic means to the extent agency rules allow; must be addressed to the § 502 open-records officer)
• The Open Records Officer is a mandatory addressee, not just a contact Every agency designates an open-records officer (§ 502), and unlike Virginia's FOIA officer (a published contact only) or Ohio's untitled records custodian, PA's § 703 makes that officer the addressee a written request 'must be addressed to.' Employees who receive a request elsewhere must forward it to the officer. Discovery should prioritize the NAMED officer (the OOR publishes a statewide directory, § 1310(a)(7)) rather than a generic records mailbox. 65 P.S. § 67.502 (agency shall designate an open-records officer; officer's functions)
• Five business days, a 30-day extension ceiling, and deemed denial The open-records officer must respond within five business days of receiving a written request, or the request is deemed denied (§ 901). The officer may extend for enumerated reasons (redaction, remote storage, staffing, legal review, requester noncompliance, unpaid fees, or the request's extent/nature), but if the extension pushes the expected response date beyond 30 days total, the request is deemed denied unless the requester agrees in writing to the later date (§ 902). Our letter does not cite this deadline; it is raised only in the overdue follow-up. 65 P.S. § 67.901 (five business days to respond; no response is a deemed denial)
• Redaction, not wholesale withholding, and the burden on the agency Section 706 requires an agency to grant access to the non-exempt portion of a record and redact only the exempt portion; it may not deny the whole record if the exempt part can be redacted. Any denial, in whole or in part, must be in writing with the specific reasons and a citation of supporting legal authority (§ 903). The agency bears the burden of proving an exemption applies, by a preponderance of the evidence (§ 708(a)); the RTKL's presumption is that a record in the agency's possession is public (§ 305). 65 P.S. § 67.706 (redact the exempt portion; may not deny the whole record if redaction is possible) · Bowling v. Office of Open Records, 75 A.3d 453 (Pa. 2013)
• An agency's grounds for denial can develop, but late arguments can still be waived The Supreme Court in Levy v. Senate of Pennsylvania abrogated the Commonwealth Court's PER SE rule that an agency waives any ground for withholding a record it did not raise in its initial written denial. An agency's grounds may still develop further at the Office of Open Records appeals-officer stage. But an argument never raised before the fact-finding record closes (typically at the appeals-officer level) remains waived, so a specific, itemized denial at the outset still serves the agency's own interest, not just ours. 65 P.S. § 67.903 (written denial: specific reasons, legal authority, and the appeal procedure) · Levy v. Senate of Pennsylvania, 65 A.3d 361 (Pa. 2013)
• No search, retrieval, or review fees; duplication capped and reasonable The RTKL bars a fee for an agency's review of a record to determine whether it is subject to access, and bars any other fee unless the agency necessarily incurs a cost, which must be reasonable (§ 1307(g)); duplication, postage, and certification fees are separately capped and must reflect prevailing local rates. Because our letters ask for electronic delivery by reply email, duplication cost should be minimal or zero, and an agency may not charge for basic electronic access at all. 65 P.S. § 67.1307 (no search or review fee; duplication/postage/certification fees capped and reasonable)
• State-related institutions file disclosures instead of answering RTKL requests Temple, Pitt, Penn State, and Lincoln are 'State-related institutions' (§ 1501) outside the RTKL's general public-records access; instead Chapter 15 requires them to FILE specific financial, salary, and contract information annually for public posting (§§ 1502-1504). A records-log request to one of these four should ask for the § 1502-1504 filing directly, not a general RTKL response. Every OTHER Pennsylvania public university (the State System of Higher Education institutions) and every community college ARE 'State-affiliated entities' under § 102 and so remain fully covered under the general RTKL. 65 P.S. §§ 67.1501-67.1504 (State-related institutions file annual financial disclosures instead of general RTKL access)
• Judicial agencies answer only for financial records A judicial agency (a court or any other unit of the unified judicial system) must provide FINANCIAL records under the RTKL, not general public records (§ 304); 'financial record' is narrowly defined (§ 102) to accounts/vouchers/contracts for receipts and disbursements, officer/employee salaries and payments, and financial audit reports. General case or administrative court records run through the Unified Judicial System's own public-access policy, not the RTKL. 65 P.S. § 67.304 (judicial agencies provide financial records, not general public records)
• Private contractors performing a governmental function A record not in an agency's own possession, but held by a party the agency contracted with to perform a governmental function on its behalf and directly relating to that function, is a public record of the agency (§ 506(d)). SWB Yankees LLC v. Wintermantel applied this to a private stadium concessionaire's bid and contract records; an ordinary fundraising foundation, hauler, or utility does not meet the standard absent a comparable contract. 65 P.S. § 67.506(d) (records held by a contractor performing a governmental function on an agency's behalf) · SWB Yankees LLC v. Wintermantel, 45 A.3d 1029 (Pa. 2012)
• Appeals run to a statewide quasi-judicial body: the Office of Open Records A denied or deemed-denied requester appeals to the Office of Open Records (or the applicable legislative/judicial/law-enforcement appeals officer under § 503) within 15 business days (§ 1101); the OOR must issue a binding Final Determination within 30 days, with no filing fee. Bowling v. Office of Open Records holds that judicial review of that determination is de novo and plenary, and describes an administrative regime that resolves most disputes at the appeals-officer level. No prior registered state has this structure: it changes the follow-up play economics, because an overdue or denied PA request has a free, fast, binding administrative remedy before any court filing is needed. 65 P.S. § 67.1101 (appeal to the Office of Open Records within 15 business days), § 67.1310 (OOR establishment) · Bowling v. Office of Open Records, 75 A.3d 453 (Pa. 2013)