Public records requests
Promoting the efficient administration of government
State and county law allows the public to examine most records about government conduct. The laws are mindful of providing access while protecting individual privacy rights.
Many records are available online and free of charge. Some of them include:
- Council legislation
- Council and committee agendas, minutes, and videos
- Audit reports
- How to appeal an assessed valuation of a property
- Hearing Examiner decisions and recommendations
- Ombuds information
The County is divided into 9 separate agencies for the purposes of the Public Records Act. Submit your records requests to the agencies listed below:
How records requests work
The public records officer does one or more of the following within 5 business days of receiving a request:
- Makes the records available to the requestor for inspection or copying
- Sends copies to the requestor
- Sends payment terms if requested
If copies are not immediately available, the officer will do the following:
- Provide the requestor a reasonable estimate of when the records will be available
- Ask for clarification from the requestor if the request is unclear or it doesn't identify specific records
Requesters may provide clarification by telephone. In such cases, the public records officer will produce a written record of the clarification. Based on the clarification, the public records officer may revise the estimate of when records will be available.
If the requestor fails to clarify their request, the agency may choose not to respond further
A department may deny the request and notify the requestor of the denial. It will include a written statement of the specific reasons for the denial
All records are released if they don't fall within the Public Records Act's specific exemptions or statutes that exempt or prohibit the disclosure of detailed information or documents.
Possible bases for exemption may be found in chapter 42.56 RCW at https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.56. The Public Records Officer will describe why each withheld record or redacted part of a record is exempt from disclosure.
Fee structure for requested records
Service | Cost |
Public records inspection | Free |
Paper copies | 15 cents per page |
Scanned copies | 10 cents per page |
Electronic transmission | 5 cents for every 4 electronic files or attachments OR 10 cents per gigabyte |
Digital storage media or device (provided by the legislative branch) | Actual cost |
Shipping costs and packaging | Actual cost |
A deposit of up to 10% of the estimated copying costs may be required. Additional fees are assessed if extra preparation or customized access is necessary
Cash, checks, and money orders are the only accepted forms of payment. Please make checks and money orders payable to: King County Treasury.
Request records by department
Get records from agencies such as Council, Elections, Assessor, and the courts. Use the GovQA online portal to get started.
Contact the agencies directly for questions about records requests:
King County Council, Personnel Board, Board of Appeals, Forecast Council, Office of Economic and Financial Analysis (OEFA), independent agencies
Email: clerk.council@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-477-1020
Johanna Loomis, Legislative Records Manager
Address: Clerk of the Council’s Office, Metropolitan King County Council
King County Courthouse
Assessor
Email: al.dams@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-263-4159
Address: King Street Center
Elections
Email: election.services@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-296-1565
Address: 919 Southwest Grady Way
Executive Branch
Email: pra.requests@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-263-2250
Address: 201 S. Jackson Street, Suite 320
Office of the Ombuds
Email: ombuds.pra@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-477-1050
Address: 810 Third Avenue, Suite 705
Seattle, Washington 98104
Prosecutor
Email: paopublicdisclosure@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-477-3296
Address: King County Courthouse
Sheriff
Email: kcsodisclosure@kingcounty.gov
Phone: 206-263-2103
Address: King County Courthouse