Frequently Asked Questions - Public Records Act Requests

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) is a state law found in California Government Code Section 7920.000 et seq. The CPRA declares that “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state”. The statutory presumption is that ““public records” are subject to disclosure upon request, unless a specific exemption applies. 

"Public Records" includes “any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained” by the University, “regardless of physical form or characteristics."

Requests should be submitted to the Public Records Office at pra@berkeley.edu. If a PRA request is received by other campus offices, it must be forwarded to the Public Records Office for handling. 

Any member of the public can submit a PRA request.

No. There is no service for on-demand or immediate inspection of records; nor does the law require such a service.

Identification and collection of potentially responsive records are only some of the steps involved in responding to requests. The collected records must be reviewed to ensure that they are in fact responsive to the request and to assess whether they are subject to redaction to protect the privacy rights of others and consistent with applicable legal privileges and exemptions. Each of the steps in the process takes time. 

No. The University is required to determine within 10 days (can be extended to 24 days for voluminous/complex requests) after receipt of a records request whether or not the requested records are subject to disclosure, and to notify the person making the request of the reasons for that determination. At the time of making a determination, the University will provide a good faith estimate of when the records will be available. The records themselves are not required to be released in 10 days. 

The University can charge the direct cost of duplication, including the cost of computer programming time and computer services required to produce a record that requires data extraction. 

Staff time for research, retrieval, and review is not considered as part of the direct cost of duplication.

No. The University is only responsible for providing existing documents and records that are maintained by the University.

The Federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public the right to request access to records from federal government agencies. 

The California Public Records Act (CPRA) provides the public the right to request access to records from state and local government agencies. The CPRA is modeled on FOIA. 

To obtain a copy of the Form 700 of a UC public official, you may e-mail your request to pra@ucop.edu or contact the UC Office of the General Counsel at  (510) 987–9800.