Act 3 of 2008, commonly known as the Open Records Law, creates a system for inspecting and/or obtaining copies of the County's public records. The County has adopted its own Open Records Regulations and Procedures to implement the Act. Open Records requests may be made to the Office of the Chief Clerk in person, by mail, by fax, or by email. Please use this PDF Request Form or submit online.
The Office of the Chief Clerk may be contacted as follows:
Office of the Chief Clerk
County of Montgomery
One Montgomery Plaza, Suite 800
P.O. Box 311
Norristown, PA 19404-0311
610-278-3020 (telephone)
610-279-6682 (fax)
OpenRcrd@montcopa.org (email)
You will be charged a fee for all copies you request. Copies will not be provided until you have paid the applicable fee. In a few instances (such as a request for a deed), the fees will be determined by a statute other than the Open Records Law. In most instances, however, the County’s fees are:
Photocopies of standard-sized records (8 ½ x 11 or 8 ½ x 14):
For one-sided copies, 25 cents per page. For two-sided copies, 25 cents per side.
Redaction: The County does not charge for time spent redacting, or blacking out,
nonpublic information in a public document, but the County will charge for making
all copies needed to produce redacted material for viewing by the requester.
Certification of a record: $1 per record.
Blueprints, maps and other specialized documents: County cost of reproduction.
Postage fees: County cost of mailing.
Electronic data: Rates are set by the County with approval of the State Open
Records Office.
You will receive a response within five business days of the Chief Clerk’s receipt of your request. The response:
(a) Will state how and when you may inspect or obtain copies of the records you requested; or
(b) Will inform you, when appropriate, of any additional time that will be needed for legal review of your request or for the gathering or duplicating of the requested records; or
(c) Will inform you, when appropriate, that some or all of the requested records are not subject to production under the Open Records Law.
If you disagree with a determination of the Chief Clerk, you may file an appeal to the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. Guidelines and forms for appeals may be found at http://openrecords.state.pa.us. Decisions of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records may be appealed to Court.
