Office of 参谋长 and General Counsel

While record requests can be made verbally (in person) or in writing to the 记录查阅主任 (RAO), written requests via email are preferred. No specific format is required, but the Secretary of the Commonwealth has provided the following sample request letter with recommended language. To help in completing the request, 弗雷明汉 State University has filled in the RAO’s information into the template. Written requests can be mailed to the address below or emailed to publicrecords [at] 弗雷明汉.edu.

Sample request letter from the Secretary of the Commonwealth:

请求发送日期
安年代. 麦克唐纳先生.
弗雷明汉 State University
道富街100号
弗雷明汉，马萨诸塞州01086
Re: Massachusetts Public Records Request

亲爱的安年代. 麦克唐纳先生.:

This is a request under the Massachusetts Public Records Law (M. G. L. 第六十六章第十节). I am requesting that I be provided a copy of the following records:

[Please include a detailed description of the information you are seeking.]

I recognize that you may charge reasonable costs for copies, as well as for personnel time needed to comply with this request. If you expect costs to exceed $10.00, please provide a detailed fee estimate.

The Public Records Law requires you to provide me with a written response within 10 business days. If you cannot comply with my request, you are statutorily required to provide an explanation in writing.

真诚地,
你的名字
联系 Information (address, email, telephone)

Be specific in your request, including the dates or time-frame for the documents you are requesting. This will help the RAO in fulfilling the request as quickly as possible.

Consider how you can narrow the scope of your request so that the records can be produced more efficiently and affordably.

Include the preferred format of the records in your request. Whenever feasible the RAO will provide a digital copy of the request in a searchable, 机读格式.
弗雷明汉 State must adhere to laws regarding the protection of personally identifiable information (PII). Records containing PII will require redaction, increasing the time that employees work on the request and potentially the fee assessed for the records. Consider excluding records that contain PII whenever possible.

Q: When will my request be responded to?
A:对于大多数请求, the Public Records Law requires that a response be sent to the requestor within 10 business days of receipt of the request and that the request be fulfilled in its entirety within 15 business days. If the magnitude or difficulty of the request prevents it from being fulfilled within 15 days, the University may petition the Commonwealth’s Supervisor of Records for an extension not to exceed 20 business days.

Q: Will there be a cost associated with the request?
A: There may be a fee assessed for public records, depending on the request. No fee for employee time can be charged for requests that require less than four hours of employee time searching for, 编译, 隔离, 修订, 或者复制记录. Requests that require over four hours of employee time may be assessed a fee equal to the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who has the skill level to perform the work, 每小时不超过25美元, for time in excess of the first four hours. A fee for paper copies or printouts may be assessed for 5 cents a page for black and white single and double-sided copies. If a fee will be assessed, the 记录查阅主任 will provide an itemized, good faith estimate prior to fulfillment of the request.