FAQ

WHAT IS THE OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT (OPRA)?

OPRA is a New Jersey statute that governs the public's access to government records in New Jersey. 

 WHAT IS AN OPRA REQUEST?

An official OPRA request is a request for government records submitted to a public agency. Verbal requests are never OPRA requests.

WHERE DO I SUBMIT MY OPRA REQUEST?

Requests must be submitted to the Custodian of the public agency that maintains physical custody of the requested records. For example, a request for payroll records of a school business administrator should be submitted to the school district in which the administrator is employed. In Bridgewater Township, the Custodian of records is the Township Clerk.

HOW DOES BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP PROCESS OPRA REQUESTS?

We respond to requests for public records through our public records portal, NextRequest. Records identified as responsive to OPRA requests are made available through the public records portal.

WHEN MAY PUBLIC RECORDS BE INSPECTED?

Following receipt of an OPRA request, we will advise you, within seven (7) business days for non-commercial requests or fourteen (14) days for commercial requests, whether the records requested are disclosable and available for inspection. Public records maintained by the Township may be inspected during regular office hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for holidays.

WHEN SHOULD I EXPECT A RESPONSE TO MY OPRA REQUEST?

Custodians should respond in writing to your OPRA request as soon as possible but not later than seven (7) business days (non-commercial) or fourteen (14) business days (commercial) after the request is received, provided that the record is currently available and not in storage or archived. Day one (1) is the day following the custodian's receipt of the request. The Custodian's response must grant access to the records you seek, deny access to the records you seek, ask for clarification of your request, or ask for an extension to time to fulfill your request.

CAN THE CUSTODIAN TAKE MORE THAN SEVEN (7) BUSINESS DAYS TO RESPOND TO MY OPRA REQUEST?

Yes. Custodians may seek extensions of time beyond the seven (7) or fourteen (14) business day deadline for legitimate reasons (such as the record in storage). Custodians must notify the requestor in writing, within the statutorily mandated seven (7) business days (non-commercial) or fourteen (14) business days (commercial) and provide an anticipated deadline date upon which the records will be provided. 

DO I HAVE TO INCLUDE PAYMENT WITH MY REQUEST?

No. If there are any fees associated with a request, we will contact you regarding the specific cost and instructions on how to remit payment. Requestors are not required to send payment with the request.

HOW DETAILED SHOULD MY REQUEST BE?

We recommend that you include details that will facilitate a focused search:

  • Describe the nature of the record being requested
  • When applicable, provide the identification number of the records e.g. Construction Jacket #123654
  • Provide the time frame or date range you are interested in e.g. Fiscal Year 2023 or from February 2022 to present
  • When applicable, provide specific addresses and/or block/lot numbers

WHAT IS A BROAD AND/OR UNCLEAR REQUEST?

A broad and/or unclear request fails to name specific government records or requires the custodian to conduct research.

  •  Example of an overly broad request: "Any and all records related to the construction of the new high school." The term "records" does not reasonably identify a specific government record.
  • Example of a valid request: "Any and all e-mails between Jane Doe and John Smith regarding the construction of the new high school from January 1, 2009, to February 28, 2009." This request identifies a specific type of record, parties to the correspondence, dates, and subject matter.
  • Example of a request that requires research: "all meeting minutes from 2011 in which the Council discussed Jane Doe, Human Resource Manager." This request is invalid because it requires the custodian to research/read through all the 2011 minutes to determine when the Council discussed Jane Doe, Human Resource Manager.
  • Example of a valid request: "all meeting minutes from 2011." The requestor would then have to conduct his own research to determine which minutes contain the subjects in which he is interested.

A custodian may either deny an overly broad/unclear request or seek clarification of the request. The custodian's request for clarification must be in writing, within seven (7) business days of receipt of the request. If a custodian seeks clarification of an OPRA request, the response time clock stops until the requestor provides a response to the custodian.

CAN THE CUSTODIAN "BLACK OUT" PORTIONS OF THE RECORDS I REQUESTED?

Under OPRA, a government record that is otherwise publicly accessible may contain non-disclosable information that should be redacted. Redaction means editing a record to prevent public viewing of material that cannot lawfully be disclosed. Words, sentences, paragraphs, or whole pages may be subject to redaction.

Information contained on this page has been sourced from https://www.nj.gov/grc/public/faqs/