Rules
State public records compared: California, Texas, and New York request rules
State public records request rules differ sharply across California, Texas, and New York, from 10-day deadlines to attorney general rulings and FOIL appeals.
What to take away
- California's Public Records Act allows 10 calendar days to respond, plus a 14-day extension on narrow grounds.
- Texas allows 10 business days, but agencies may bill for labor, so cost estimates decide most requests.
- New York's Freedom of Information Law allows five business days, then an appeal to a named appeals officer.
- Escalation routes differa court petition in California, an attorney general ruling in Texas, Article 78 in New York.
- The wording of your request decides more than the statute you cite.
Response clocks, fees and appeals side by side
All three states presume records are open. The mechanics differ.
[figure 1]
State Public Records Laws at a Glance
California
- Main statute
- Public Records Act
- Initial response
- 10 calendar days
- Extension
- 14 days
- Cost driver
- Duplication, staff time
- Enforcement
- Court petition
Texas
- Main statute
- Public Information Act
- Initial response
- 10 business days
- Extension
- 10 days for AG ruling
- Cost driver
- Labor, programming
- Enforcement
- AG ruling
New York
- Main statute
- FOIL
- Initial response
- 5 business days
- Extension
- 20 business days
- Cost driver
- Copies at 25 cents
- Enforcement
- FOIL appeal
California
- Statute
- Public Records Act, Government Code 7920
- Initial response
- 10 calendar days
- Extension
- 14 days, limited grounds
- Cost driver
- Copies, some data extraction
- Escalation
- Court petition
Texas
- Statute
- Public Information Act, Chapter 552
- Initial response
- 10 business days
- Extension
- 10 business days to seek an AG ruling
- Cost driver
- Labor, programming, copies
- Escalation
- AG ruling, then suit
New York
- Statute
- FOIL, Public Officers Law Article 6
- Initial response
- 5 business days
- Extension
- 20 business days, unusual circumstances
- Cost driver
- 25 cents per page, up to 9 by 14 inches
- Escalation
- Written appeal, then Article 78
A deadline usually starts when the agency receives a clear written request, not when you mail it. Send by email and keep the timestamp.
Vocabulary differs too. California issues a determination, Texas expects a ruling request, New York sends an acknowledgment. How to find and request public records sets out the filing order for a first attempt. The state law listing at Cornell's Legal Information Institute carries the statutory text side by side.
California: a 10-day clock and written determinations
California's clock starts on receipt. The agency has 10 calendar days to grant, deny, or promise disclosure later.
A denial must cite its exemption in writing. The 14-day extension applies in narrow cases, such as offsite storage or a large search.
If the deadline passes, you can petition a court for an order to disclose, and a prevailing requester may recover fees. The clock pauses when the agency asks you to clarify.
Texas: cost estimates and the attorney general
Texas requests stall on money more than secrecy. Agencies may charge for copies, and for labor, overhead and programming.
- Send the request to the public information officer or designated contact.
- Ask for an itemized cost estimate in writing before work begins.
- If the agency seeks an attorney general ruling, file your response with the AG and contest the claimed exception.
- If the bill is high, narrow the ask or request CSV data instead of scanned PDFs.
The attorney general publishes rulings that act as precedent. A missed deadline can create a presumption that the information is public. Our government records and public documents verification guide shows how to log each notice and invoice.
New York FOIL: five days, then an appeals officer
New York FOIL requests go in writing to the records access officer. The agency has five business days to grant, deny, or acknowledge.
An acknowledgment buys up to 20 more business days when records are hard to locate or need review.
A denial must be written, must name the exemption, and must name the appeals officer. File your appeal within 30 days. The officer then has 10 business days to decide.
[figure 4]
New York FOIL Response and Appeal
- Day 0Written request to records officer
- Day 5Agency response due
- Up to 20 more daysUnusual circumstances
- Within 30 daysFile written appeal
- 10 business daysAppeals officer decides
If the appeal is denied or ignored, the next step is an Article 78 proceeding in state court.
Example: the same request, three ways
The facts stay fixed. You want emails between a city manager and a vendor about a March contract.
- Californiacite Government Code section 7920, ask for electronic copies, and ask the agency to name any exemption it claims.
- Texascite Chapter 552, request a written estimate first, and ask to be notified of any attorney general decision.
- New Yorkcite Public Officers Law Article 6, ask for an answer in five business days, and ask for the appeals officer's contact details if the request is denied.
Requests also surface documents of unclear status. The evidence source types compared explainer separates a working draft from a final version before you quote it.
Fees, waivers and the habits that avoid delays
- Name the records, not the topic.
- Give a start date and an end date.
- Ask for native electronic files.
- Ask for redaction instead of withholding.
- Log every reply with its date and sender.
Fee waivers exist but are narrow, and Texas agencies have little room to waive labor.
Exemptions look similar everywhere: privacy, law enforcement and deliberative process. Texas leans on attorney general rulings. New York publishes guidance. California courts fill the gaps.
If the records are in Canada
Canadian federal requests run through a separate system, the Access to Information and Privacy process described on the Government of Canada access to information page. It uses its own forms and timelines, and provincial rules differ again.
Our guide to US and Canada border claim verification with CBP and Census data covers how to line up the two systems.
