Public Records Request

About

The Public Records Act was enacted by initiative in 1972 requiring that the public be provided liberal access to Department records, Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 42.56.030.

Per RCW 42.56.010  a "public record" includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.

Any person may make a public records request for agency records.

Applicable Law

For more information regarding the Public Records Act, please review the Revised Code of Washington (RCW).

Exemptions

Exemptions are generally intended to prevent invasion of privacy and the use of public records for personal, commercial, or political gain. Further, exemptions are intended to restrict disclosure of some details within specific areas of the law, such as criminal non-conviction data and the protection of health care information. Some of the information that may be exempt includes:

  • Information regarding agency personnel and volunteers, such as home phone numbers, home addresses, and employment applications
  • Social security numbers
  • Examination test scores
  • Victim/Witness identification
  • Non-conviction data
  • Health Diagnosis
  • Certain investigative records

Per RCW 42.17.300 (1)(d) “Specific intelligence information and specific investigative records compiled by investigative, law enforcement, and penology agencies” and (3) “information revealing the identity of persons who are witnesses to or victims of crimes or who file complaints with investigative, law enforcement, or other penology agencies if disclosure would endanger any person’s life, physical safety, or property.” Other statutes exempt other information as well and will be cited when declining the release of information.

This agency may not disseminate Washington State and Federal criminal history record information to the public, per RCW 10.97.040. You may inquire at the courts or the WSP Criminal History ID Section (form available on request).

Note: This is not a complete list of exemptions. Each request is addressed on an individual basis.

Fees

Requestors may visually inspect records in person at the Sheriff’s Office, by appointment, at no cost. Clallam County waives fees for production of records if the total is less than $10.

Other costs include:

  • Paper copies $0.15 per page, plus postage/mailing
  • Scanned copies $0.10 per page
  • Records uploaded to email, cloud-based storage, CD/DVD or flash drive $0.05 each per every 4 electronic files or attachments
  • Transmission of public records in an electronic format: $0.10 per gigabyte (GB)
  • CDs/DVDs/USB flash drives/External hard drives:  Actual cost plus postage/mailing
  • Other media such as audio and photos: Actual cost plus postage/mailing

Complete Record Fee Schedule

Note: No fee is charged for the inspection of public records (appointment required).

Viewing Records

You may schedule an appointment to view non-exempt records. We will need to review the material you request to determine if there is content that is exempt from public disclosure; if so, we need to copy and redact exempt information.

Please call the Agency Point of Contact to make this appointment.

View All