Public Disclosure and Records Requests
The Seattle City Attorney supports open government. The City Attorney strives to comply with both the letter and the spirit of the Washington State Public Records Act, RCW Chapter 42.56. The City Attorney is committed to full disclosure of all non-exempt public records in the custody of the office upon request.
Making a Public Disclosure Request
City Departments maintain separate records and filing systems. You should send your request directly to the agency that maintains the record(s) of interest to you. Please see the list of City Public Disclosure Officers for the current contacts for each city agency.To aid in determining the appropriate agency you may want to review city of Seattle department descriptions. You may also want to visit the individual web sites for each department.
To submit a public records request to the City Attorney's Office, please use the provided forms to ensure we have sufficient information to comply with your request.
- Public Disclosure Request Form
[ Word 2007 ] [ Fillable PDF ] - Appeal Of Exemption(s)in Public Records Request Response Form [ Word 2007 ] [ Fillable PDF ]
If you are not able to use the forms provided, please contact the Public Disclosure Officer for the City Attorney's Office.
Responses to Public Disclosure Requests
Within five business days after the receipt of a request, City public disclosure officers will do one or more of the following:
- Make requested records available for inspection or copying.
- Acknowledge the receipt of request and provide a reasonable estimate of when requested records will be available.
- Seek clarification of unclear requests.
- Deny the request and cite the legal exemption.
- Common Exemptions RCW 42.56.210 through 42.56.510