The Texas Public Information Act, codified at Chapter 552 of the Government Code, gives you the right to inspect or copy records held by state and local government bodies in Texas unless a specific exception lets the agency withhold them.1State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.001 – Policy; Construction The law reaches state agencies, county commissioners courts, city councils, school boards, special districts, and any part of an organization supported by public funds.2Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code 552.003 – Definitions Courts are directed to read the Act broadly in favor of disclosure.
What You Can Ask For
Public information is anything written, produced, collected, or maintained by a governmental body in connection with official business, regardless of format. Paper files, photographs, maps, sound recordings, and any electronic storage media all count. Emails, text messages, instant messages, and social media posts are included when they relate to official business, no matter what device created or stored them.3State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.002 – Definition of Public Information; Media Containing Public Information Records a contractor produces for the government body are covered too.
Certain categories are public by default and cannot be withheld unless another law makes them confidential:4State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.022 – Categories of Public Information; Examples
- Name, sex, ethnicity, salary, title, and dates of employment for every government employee and official
- Vouchers, contracts, and other documents showing how public money is received or spent
- Completed audits, evaluations, and investigations prepared by or for the agency
- Final voting records on all proceedings, with each official’s name
- Research and data used to estimate the need for public expenditures, once the estimate is finished
- Rules of procedure, staff manuals, and policy interpretations that affect the public
What Agencies Can Withhold
A governmental body may only refuse disclosure under an exception in Subchapter C. The ones that come up most often:
Confidential by other law. Section 552.101 lets the agency withhold anything the Texas Constitution, a state or federal statute, or a court decision makes confidential. Social security numbers are a routine example because federal law restricts their release.5State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.101 – Exception: Confidential Information
Pending litigation. Records tied to civil or criminal litigation involving a Texas governmental body can be withheld, but only while that litigation is pending or reasonably anticipated when you submit your request. Once the case ends and appeals are exhausted, the exception falls away. Election-related information held by a local election administrator generally cannot be withheld on this ground.6State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 552.103 – Exception: Litigation or Settlement Negotiations
Law enforcement. Investigation and prosecution records can be withheld if release would interfere with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of crime. Even so, basic information about an arrested person, an arrest, or a crime must be released promptly.7State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.108 – Exception: Certain Law Enforcement, Corrections, and Prosecutorial Information
Trade secrets and competitive information. A trade secret can be withheld if the owner took reasonable measures to keep it secret and it has economic value from being unknown. Commercial or financial information submitted by a private party can be withheld only if the submitter shows with specific factual evidence that disclosure would cause substantial competitive harm.8State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.110 – Exception: Confidentiality of Trade Secrets; Confidentiality of Certain Commercial or Financial Information
Personnel privacy. Personnel-file information is exempt when release would be a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. A public school employee’s transcript is protected, though the degree earned and the curriculum listed on it are not.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.102 – Exception: Confidentiality of Certain Personnel Information
How to File a Request
Your request must be in writing. You can send it by U.S. mail, email, fax, hand delivery, or an online portal if the agency has one.10Texas Public Law. Texas Government Code 552.234 – Method of Making Written Request for Public Information
Here is the detail that trips people up: the agency is not obligated to respond unless you send the request to the specific mailing address or email address it has designated for public information requests. Most agencies post that address on their website. A request sent to a general departmental inbox or an individual employee may never start the clock. Find the designated address before you write anything.
Describe the records as specifically as you can. Date ranges, file numbers, project names, and the names of the officials involved help the agency locate documents faster and often reduce the fee. You do not have to say why you want the records or give any identification beyond a name and a way to reach you.
How Fast the Agency Must Respond
Once the agency receives a valid request, it must produce the records “promptly,” defined as “as soon as possible under the circumstances, without delay.”11State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.221 – Application for Public Information; Production of Public Information There is no fixed calendar deadline for routine production. The agency can let you inspect records in person, mail copies, or point you to a URL where the information is already posted. Even if it points to a website, you can insist on physical copies or inspection of the originals.
If the agency wants to withhold any part of what you asked for, it has to ask the Attorney General for a ruling within ten business days of receiving your request. During that same ten-day window, it must send you a written notice saying it is seeking an AG decision.12State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.301 – Request for Attorney General Decision The AG then has 45 business days to decide, extendable by another ten business days if the office notifies both sides of the reason before the original 45 days expire.13State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.306 – Rendition of Attorney General Decision; Issuance of Written Opinion
An agency that misses the ten-business-day deadline without seeking an AG ruling is in a weak spot. The information is then presumed public, and you can sue to compel release.
What It Costs
Agencies may charge the actual cost of producing records. The standard rates are $0.10 per photocopied page, $15.00 per hour for labor, and $28.50 per hour for programming time.14Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Public Information Act Cost Rules 101 For requests of 50 or fewer pages of paper records, the charge is limited to the per-page copy cost with no labor or overhead, unless the records are stored in multiple buildings or at a remote facility.15State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 552.261 – Charges for Providing Copies
An agency cannot bill you for the labor it spends deciding whether an exception applies or preparing a request to the Attorney General.14Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Public Information Act Cost Rules 101
When estimated charges exceed $40, the agency must send a written itemized statement of all anticipated costs and tell you the request will be treated as withdrawn if you do not respond in writing.16State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.2615 – Required Itemized Estimate of Charges If a deposit or bond is required, you have ten business days to pay it or the request is withdrawn.17State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 552.263 This is the trap most requesters fall into. Get an estimate, do nothing, lose the request.
You can also ask for a fee waiver. The agency must waive or reduce charges when it determines that disclosure primarily benefits the general public rather than you personally, and it may waive a charge when the cost of processing payment would exceed the charge.18State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 552.267 – Waiver or Reduction of Charge for Providing Copy of Public Information There is no form. Ask in writing and explain how release serves the public interest. Journalists, researchers, and nonprofit watchdog groups tend to have the strongest arguments, but anyone can make the request.
If the Agency Refuses or Ignores You
You have more than one route when things go wrong.
Ask the Attorney General for Help
For problems short of a lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Open Records Division takes requests for assistance online. Use this when an agency fails to provide information, fails to request an AG ruling within ten business days, fails to comply with a ruling, or overcharges you. The Open Government Hotline is (512) 478-6736 or toll-free (877) 673-6839.19Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Public Information Act (PIA) Complaint
Sue for a Writ of Mandamus
You can file suit in district court to force disclosure when an agency refuses to ask for an AG decision, refuses to release records, or refuses to release records the AG has already ruled are public. File in the county where the governmental body’s main offices are located.20State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.321 – Suit for Writ of Mandamus
Trigger a Prosecutor’s Complaint
You cannot personally file a declaratory judgment action under the Act, but you can push one into motion. File a written, signed complaint with the district or county attorney identifying the governmental body, describing the violation, and stating when and where it occurred. That official then has 31 days to decide whether a violation happened and whether to sue. Before filing, the official must notify the agency and give it four days to fix the problem. If the district or county attorney declines to act, you can escalate to the Attorney General.21State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.3215 – Declaratory Judgment or Injunctive Relief
Penalties for Hiding or Destroying Records
An official who willfully fails to comply with the Act commits a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both, and a conviction counts as official misconduct.22State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 552.353
Destroying, altering, or removing public records without authorization carries a separate penalty: a fine of $25 to $4,000, three days to three months in county jail, or both.23State of Texas. Texas Government Code 552.351 – Destruction, Removal, or Alteration of Public Information The Texas Penal Code separately criminalizes knowingly destroying or concealing a governmental record. Both apply at once, so an employee tempted to delete something after an inconvenient request lands is risking two offenses, not one.