OPEN PUBLIC RECORDS ACT
 N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.

OPRA provides overriding public policies in the legislative findings (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1) to which all records custodians must adhere when handling each OPRA request for access to government records.  Those public policies are:

• Government records must be readily accessible for inspection, copying or examination by its citizens, with certain exceptions, for the protection of the public interest.
• Any limitations on the right of access to government records must be interpreted in favor of the public’s right of access.
• A public agency has a responsibility and an obligation to protect a citizen’s personal information that is in the possession of a public agency when disclosure of that information would violate the citizen’s reasonable expectation of privacy.

OPRA designates the City Clerk as the official custodian of local government records.  An OPRA request may be submitted to the City via e-mail lhand@ventnorcity.org or click here to fill out the Ventnor City OPRA Request Form.

The Government Records Council’s website www.state.nj.us/grc contains useful information on the law, including summaries of exceptions to disclosure, copies of gubernatorial Executive Orders, lists of statutes containing exceptions, and a search engine of all prior GRC decisions. The public is urged to check the website when questions arise and should also feel free to submit their questions to the Council via the toll-free information line (1-866-850-0511), e-mail (grc@dca.state.nj.us), or regular mail (101 South Broad Street, P. O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625-0819).

If you are seeking Atlantic County or State of New Jersey governmental records, the request must be made directly to that agency.