(1) Website records. Persons seeking public records of the office under the act are strongly encouraged to, before submitting a records request, first review the office's website at www.atg.wa.gov. Indexed records may include formal attorney general's opinions and some orders. Those records are indexed on the website, which is updated as the opinions and orders are issued.

Another website, data.wa.gov, has data about consumer protection complaints to the office. These websites have many records about office business that are free for viewing and downloading at any time, and are accessible without making a Public Records Act request to the office.

(2) Public Records Act requests. Public Records Act requests to the office must be sent or submitted only to the public records officer in the Olympia main office, in one of the following ways:

Online form at http://www.atg.wa.gov/request-ago-public-records

Email: publicrecords@atg.wa.gov

U.S. Mail or Delivery:

Public Records Unit

Office of the Attorney General

1125 Washington Street S.E.

P.O. Box 40100

Olympia, WA 98504-0100

Requestors are strongly encouraged to make requests in writing. Requestors are encouraged to use the online Public Records Act request form, which, once completed, is automatically submitted to the Olympia main office and to the attention of the public records officer. The office accepts in-person requests at the Olympia main office during normal office hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays and days the office is closed. If the office receives an oral request, the office will reduce the request to writing and verify in writing with the requestor that it correctly memorialized the request.

Other office locations outside the Olympia main office, other office email addresses, other office fax or phone numbers, and other office staff are not authorized to accept Public Records Act requests to the office.

Communications seeking office records, but which are sent or provided to unauthorized locations, addresses or staff, will not be accepted as or processed as Public Records Act requests. The office will process such communications as general informal inquiries, general correspondence, general requests for information, or discovery, as appropriate. The requestor may resubmit his/her request to the public records officer at the Olympia main office.

This Public Records Act request procedure provides the fullest assistance to requestors by:

(a) Establishing a uniform point of contact for all Public Records Act requests to the office and related inquiries, consistent with the public records officer contact information published in the Washington State Register, and pursuant to RCW 42.56.580;

(b) Enabling the office to promptly distinguish Public Records Act requests from the high volume of other daily communications to the office on multiple topics, so as to enable appropriate responses and thereby avoid excessive interference with other essential agency functions as provided in RCW 42.56.100; and

(c) Ensuring that records requests submitted under the act are centrally reviewed during business hours by the public records officer or designee, so the office may more efficiently assign a tracking number to the request, log it in, review it, provide an initial or other response within five business days after receipt as provided in RCW 42.56.520, and otherwise timely process the request pursuant to the act and these rules.

(3) Processing – General. The public records officer will oversee compliance with the act but a designee may process the request. The public records officer or designee and the office will provide the fullest assistance to requestors; ensure that public records are protected from damage or disorganization; and prevent fulfilling public records requests from causing excessive interference with essential functions of the office. More information about submitting public records requests to the office is in this chapter and on the office's website.