Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 280 - Department of Revenue
Chapter 10 - Director's Office
Subchapter 00 - General Administration
Part 1 - Access to Public Records (280-RICR-10-00-1)
Section 280-RICR-10-00-1.6 - Procedure for Requesting Public Records
Current through March 20, 2024
A. Except as provided in § 1.7 of this Part below, a written request to inspect or copy public records should be sent to the Division within the Department that maintains the records requested or, in the alternative, to the Division of Legal Services at the Department of Revenue. Written requests may be mailed, hand delivered, e-mailed or sent via facsimile. Hand delivered requests may be made during the Department's regular business hours. It is suggested, but not required, that requests be submitted on the form provided by the Department, which is available at the Department or online at http://www.dor.ri.gov/apra/. To assure that the Department can respond to the request as efficiently and as completely as possible, the request should identify and describe the records being requested with as much specificity as possible. A written record of all requests will be maintained within each Division of the Department.
B. If the description of records being requested is not sufficient to allow the Department to identify and locate the requested records, the Department will notify the person requesting such records that additional information is needed to properly respond to the request.
C. Upon receipt of a request for records, the Department will mark on the face of a written request the date the request was received. The Department will permit the inspection or copying of the requested records within ten (10) business days after receiving the written request.
D. If the inspection or copying is not permitted within ten (10) business days of receipt, the Department shall forthwith explain in writing the need for additional time to comply with the request. In such cases the Department may have up to an additional twenty (20) business days to comply with the request if it can demonstrate that the voluminous nature of the request, the number of requests for records pending, or the difficulty in searching for and retrieving or copying the requested records, is such that additional time is necessary to avoid imposing an undue burden on the Department.
E. A written request is not required to be submitted for public information available under R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-35-2 or for other documents prepared for or readily available to the public such as:
