records – Exemptions. All records of public bodies and public officials shall be open to any person for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction during regular business hours; provided: 1. The Oklahoma Open Records Act, Sections 24A.1 through 24A.34 of this title, does not apply to records specifically required by law to be kept confidential including: a. records protected by a state evidentiary privilege such as the attorney-client privilege, the work product immunity from discovery and the identity of informer privileges, b. records of what transpired during meetings of a public body lawfully closed to the public such as executive sessions authorized under the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, c. personal information within driver records as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C., Sections 2721 through 2725, d. information in the files of the Board of Medicolegal Investigations obtained pursuant to Sections 940 and 941 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes that may be hearsay, preliminary unsubstantiated investigation- related findings, or confidential medical information, e. any test forms, question banks and answer keys developed for state licensure examinations, but specifically excluding test preparation materials or study guides, f. last names, addresses, Social Security numbers or tax identification numbers, and proof of identification submitted to the Oklahoma Lottery Commission by persons claiming a lottery prize, g. unless public disclosure is required by other laws or regulations, vehicle movement records of the Oklahoma Transportation Authority obtained in connection with the Authority’s electronic toll collection system, h. personal financial information, credit reports, or other financial data obtained by or submitted to a public body for the purpose of evaluating credit worthiness, obtaining a license, permit, or for the purpose of becoming qualified to contract with a public body, i. any digital audio/video recordings of the toll collection and safeguarding activities of the Oklahoma Transportation Authority, j. any personal information provided by a guest at any facility owned or operated by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department to obtain any service at the facility or by a purchaser of a product sold by or through the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, k. a United States Department of Defense Form 214 (DD Form 214) filed with a county clerk, including any DD Form 214 filed before July 1, 2002, l. except as provided for in Section 2-110 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes: (1) any record in connection with a Motor Vehicle Report issued by the Department of Public Safety, as prescribed in Section 6-117 of Title 47 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or (2) personal information within driver records, as defined by the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C., Sections 2721 through 2725, which are stored and maintained by the Department of Public Safety, m. any portion of any document or information provided to an agency or entity of the state or a political subdivision to obtain licensure under the laws of this state or a political subdivision that contains an applicant’s personal address, personal phone number, personal email address, any government-issued identification numbers, or other contact information; provided, however, lists of persons licensed, the existence of a license of a person, or a business or commercial address, or other business or commercial information disclosable under state law submitted with an application for licensure shall be public record, unless the business or commercial address is the same as the applicant’s personal address, except when the applicant permits in writing the disclosure of the address, n. an investigative file obtained during an investigation conducted by the State Department of Health into violations of the Long-Term Care Administrator Licensing Act under Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or o. documents, evidence, materials, records, reports, complaints, or other information in the possession or control of the Attorney General or Insurance Department pertaining to an evaluation, examination, investigation, or review made pursuant to the provisions of the Patient’s Right to Pharmacy Choice Act, the Pharmacy Audit Integrity Act, or Sections 357 through 360 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 2. All Social Security numbers included in a record may be confidential regardless of the person’s status as a public employee or private individual and may be redacted or deleted prior to release of the record by the public body; 3. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record containing exempt material shall be provided after deletion of the exempt portions; provided, however, the Department of Public Safety shall not be required to assemble for the requesting person specific information, in any format, from driving records relating to any person whose name and date of birth or whose driver license number is not furnished by the requesting person. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shall not be required to assemble for the requesting person any criminal history records relating to persons whose names, dates of birth, and other identifying information required by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation pursuant to administrative rule are not furnished by the requesting person; 4. Any request for a record which contains individual records of persons, and the cost of copying, reproducing or certifying each individual record is otherwise prescribed by state law, the cost may be assessed for each individual record, or portion thereof requested as prescribed by state law. Otherwise, a public body may charge a fee only for recovery of the reasonable, direct costs of record copying, or mechanical reproduction. Notwithstanding any state or local provision to the contrary, in no instance shall the record copying fee exceed twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page for records having the dimensions of eight and one-half (8 1/2) by fourteen (14) inches or smaller, or a maximum of One Dollar ($1.00) per copied page for a certified copy. However, if the request: a. is solely for commercial purpose, or b. would clearly cause excessive disruption of the essential functions of the public body, then the public body may charge a reasonable fee to recover the direct cost of record search and copying; however, publication in a newspaper or broadcast by news media for news purposes shall not constitute a resale or use of a record for trade or commercial purpose and charges for providing copies of electronic data to the news media for a news purpose shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy. The fee charged by the Department of Public Safety for a copy in a computerized format of a record of the Department shall not exceed the direct cost of making the copy unless the fee for the record is otherwise set by law. A public body may require advance payment of the estimated fees authorized under this section when the estimated cost exceeds Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) or if the requestor has outstanding fees from previous requests. Any portion of an advance payment that exceeds the costs of responding to the request shall be returned to the requestor. Any public body establishing fees under the Oklahoma Open Records Act shall post a written schedule of the fees at its principal office and with the county clerk. In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of records is in the public interest, including, but not limited to, release to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the government are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing their duties as public servants. The fees shall not be used for the purpose of discouraging requests for information or as obstacles to disclosure of requested information; 5. The land description tract index of all recorded instruments concerning real property required to be kept by the county clerk of any county shall be available for inspection or copying in accordance with the provisions of the Oklahoma Open Records Act; provided, however, the index shall not be copied or mechanically reproduced for the purpose of sale of the information; 6. A public body must provide prompt, reasonable access to its records but may establish reasonable procedures which protect the integrity and organization of its records and to prevent excessive disruptions of its essential functions. A delay in providing access to records shall be limited solely to the time required for preparing the requested documents and the avoidance of excessive disruptions of the public body’s essential functions. In no event may production of a current request for records be unreasonably delayed until after completion of a prior records request that will take substantially longer than the current request. Any public body which makes the requested records available on the Internet shall meet the obligation of providing prompt, reasonable access to its records as required by this paragraph; 7. A public body may require a requestor to complete a records request form. If a records request does not describe the requested records with reasonable specificity, a public body may ask the requestor to clarify the request. To have reasonable specificity, a request shall: a. specify a general time frame within which the requested records would have been created or transmitted, b. seek identifiable records, rather than general information without any qualifiers or other specifications, and c. include search terms that are sufficiently specific to assist the public body in identifying the requested records. If a public body has engaged with the requestor to seek the information needed to fulfill the request and to identify the records sought by the requestor, including providing the requestor with general topics or a specific list of records related to the request, the request may be denied if it is still not reasonably specific; and 8. A public body shall designate certain persons who are authorized to release records of the public body for inspection, copying, or mechanical reproduction. At least one person shall be available at all times to release records during the regular business hours of the public body. Added by Laws 1985, c. 355, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 1985. Amended by Laws 1986, c. 213, § 1, emerg. eff. June 6, 1986; Laws 1986, c. 279, § 29, operative July 1, 1986; Laws 1988, c. 187, § 4, emerg. eff. June 6, 1988; Laws 1992, c. 231, § 2, emerg. eff. May 19, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 97, § 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Laws 1996, c. 209, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 2000, c. 342, § 8, eff. July 1, 2000; Laws 2001, c. 137, § 1, emerg. eff. April 24, 2001; Laws 2005, c. 199, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2006, c. 16, § 34, emerg. eff. March 29, 2006; Laws 2015, c. 370, § 1, emerg. eff. June 4, 2015; Laws 2016, c. 54, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2016, c. 192, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2016; Laws 2017, c. 202, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2017; Laws 2023, c. 332, § 5, eff. Nov. 1, 2023; Laws 2024, c. 116, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2024;
‹ Prev All Oklahoma sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.