PLEASE NOTE NEW EMAIL ADDRESS TO SUBMIT OPRA REQUESTS TO: opra@northbrunswicknj.gov
All requests for copies of official public records must be made in accordance with the State of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.).
A request for access to a government record must be in writing and hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically, or otherwise conveyed to the appropriate custodian. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.g. The time frame to fulfill a request for access to government records under OPRA does not begin until the request form or equivalent written request has been delivered to the appropriate records custodian. After the day of receipt, the department records custodian has seven business days to respond.
All requests for copies of official public records must be made in accordance with the State of New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.). If the form is not completed in its entirely, the OPRA can be denied.
OPRA Instructions
Refrain from requesting “any and all” documents and be specific in the documents being requested. This can result in your OPRA being denied for being “vague and overly broad”. List the department, the document name and include a specific date or date range for the records you are seeking.
The requestor has 14 business days to pick up records once notified. If the information is not picked up within the 14 day time period, a new OPRA must be submitted.
A request for access to a government record must be in writing and hand-delivered, mailed, transmitted electronically, or otherwise conveyed to the appropriate custodian. N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5.g. The time frame to fulfill a request for access to government records under OPRA does not begin until the request form or equivalent written request has been delivered to the appropriate records custodian. The day after the OPRA request is received, the following response times take effect:
Standard OPRA – 7 business days
Commercial Use OPRA – 14 business days
OPRA that requires Daniel’s Law redactions – 14 business days
OPRA that request Records in Storage – 21 business days
Requestors must be as specific as possible when requesting records. A valid request identifies a specific type of record, address, Block/Lot of property (properties), parties to the correspondence, dates/date range, and subject matter. Requests for information or requests that ask questions are NOT valid OPRA requests.
Only submit requests by one method.
Legal Proceedings
Note: If the records sought are in connection with a legal proceeding, identification of that proceeding is required.
If you are an Attorney Requesting Discovery, do NOT send an OPRA request.
1. Please send a Letter of Request for Discovery to the Records Bureau (Police Records) and Municipal Court (Municipal Court)
2. Please be sure to write your Letter of Request on your firm’s letterhead
OPRA Fees
Where a special service charge is warranted under OPRA, that amount will be communicated to you as required under the statute. You have the opportunity to review and object to the charge prior to it being incurred. If, however, you approve of the fact and amount of the special service charge, you will be required to pay a deposit or pay in full prior to the reproduction of the documents.
OPRA responses that are emailed are provided free of charge.
OPRA responses provided on Letter-Sized Pages: $0.05 per page
OPRA responses provided on Legal-Sized Pages: $0.07 per page
OPRA responses provided on USB Flash Drive $5.00
OPRA responses provided on Disc: $5.00
OPRA responses that require extensive research will incur special service fee charges.
If these items are being picked up in person, there is no additional charge. If you would like them mailed, additional fees apply.
You will be contacted by the Clerk’s Office with the fee amount, and will be required to pay a deposit or pay in full prior to the reproduction of the documents.
