All public records of the agency are available for public inspection and copying pursuant to these rules and applicable state law (chapter 42.56 RCW), as follows:

(1) Hours for inspection of records. Public records are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours of the office of the Washington State Board of Accountancy at 711 Capitol Way S., Suite 400, Olympia, Washington, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays. Records must be inspected at the agency's office when the requestor has been notified of the availability of the requested documents and an appointment is made with the public records officer.

(2) Records index. An index of public records, consisting of the retention schedules applicable to those records, is available to members of the public at the agency's office.

(3) Organization of records. The agency maintains its records in a reasonably organized manner. The agency will take reasonable actions to protect records from damage and disorganization. A requestor shall not take original records from the agency's office. A variety of records are also available on the agency's website at www.acb.wa.gov. Requestors are encouraged to view the documents available on the website prior to submitting a public records request.

(4) Making a request for public records.

(a) Any person wishing to inspect or obtain copies of public records should make the request in writing by letter, fax, or email addressed to the public records officer. Written requests must include the following information:

• Date of the request;

• Name of the requestor;

• Address of the requestor and other contact information, including telephone number and any email address;

• Clear identification of the public records requested to permit the public records officer or designee to identify and locate the records.

(b) The public records officer or designee may accept requests for public records by telephone or in person. The requestor will receive a written confirmation of the request.

(c) If the requests received in (a) or (b) of this subsection are not sufficiently clear to permit the public records officer to identify the specific records requested, the public records officer will request clarification from the requestor in writing.

(d) If the requestor wishes to have copies of the records made instead of simply inspecting them, the requestor should make that preference clear in the request. Copies will be made by the agency's public records officer or designee.

(e) When fulfilling public records requests the agency will perform its public records responsibilities in the most expeditious manner consistent with the agency's need to fulfill its other essential functions.

(f) By law, certain records and/or specific content of any specific record or document may not be subject to public disclosure. Accordingly, a reasonable time period may occur between the date of the request and the ability of the public records officer to identify, locate, retrieve, remove content not subject to disclosure, prepare a redaction log that includes the specific exemption, a brief explanation of how the exemption applies to the records or portion of the records being withheld, and produce the records for inspection and/or copying. The requestor will be kept informed of the expected delivery timetable.

(g) If the request includes a large number of records, the production of the records for the requestor may occur in installments. The requestor will be informed, in writing, of the agency's anticipated installment delivery timetable.

(h) In certain instances, the agency may notify affected third parties to whom the record relates. This notice allows the affected third party to seek an injunction within 15 days from the date of the written notice. The notice further provides that release of the records to the requestor will be honored unless timely injunctive relief is obtained by the affected third party on or before the end of the 15-day period.

(i) Requests for lists of credentialed individuals by educational organizations and professional associations:

In order to obtain a list of individuals under the provisions of RCW 42.56.070 (8), educational organizations and professional associations must apply for and receive recognition by the board before requests will be honored. The requesting organization must provide sufficient information to satisfy the approving authority that the requested list of individuals is primarily for educational and professionally related uses.

Board forms are available on the board's website or upon request.

PDFWAC 4-30-024

Public records.