California Public Records Act (CPRA)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FPPC staff are teleworking. As a result, agency records are not available for inspection at the FPPC’s offices at this time. The public can still obtain agency records maintained in electronic format by making a request via email at cpra@fppc.ca.gov. Some older records of the agency are not maintained in electronic format and may not be readily accessible to staff for production at this time. FPPC staff will make best efforts to respond to all records requests in a timely manner. For physical records not currently accessible, FPPC staff will provide those records when staff is able to access those records. Additionally, responses to requests made by US mail may be delayed due to potential delays in receipt of mail. Members of the public are strongly encouraged to make requests via email.

The California Public Records Act protects the rights of journalists and members of the public to request information from government agencies. If you would like to request something from the FPPC, the material below will help you to understand how the process works. 

If you are ready to submit your request Download The Public Records Request Form.

Please email all requests for public records to cpra@fppc.ca.gov

Form 700's (Statement of Economic Interests)

A commonly requested document are Form 700s for public officials; however, it’s not necessary to submit a CPRA request to obtain these forms. To promote compliance and increase transparency in government, the Forms 700s for many local and state officials can be searched by the Form 700 Search

To request a Form 700 that is not on our website, email press@fppc.ca.gov.

Campaign Statements

The Act specifies when and where candidates and committees must file campaign statements. However, candidates and committees do not file campaign statements with the FPPC.

Generally, candidates and committees involved in state elections (constitutional officers, Senate, Assembly, statewide ballot measures) file with the Secretary of State’s office, while those involved in county, city or special district elections file with the local elections office. You should contact the appropriate filling office if you wish to obtain copies of campaign statements.

The Political Reform Division of the Secretary of State’s office provides public access to campaign statements in its possession, and makes some of the statements it receives available electronically: Secretary of State: Political Reform Division

Guidelines for Access to Public Records

Requests

Requests can be submitted via email, telephone, or letter.

Please provide the following information:

  1. The name of the requestor.
  2. Organization (if any).
  3. A mailing address, telephone/fax number and/or email address.
  4. A specific description of the records requested.

Logging and Tracking

CPRA requests will be logged and assigned a number for tracking purposes by the Commission.  Requests for public records and our response are themselves public records that may be requested.

Transmittal and Cost

  1. Responses will generally be mailed or emailed. 
  2. The Commission charges 10 cents per page for copies (including copies that are made for email). 
  3. If the copying charges are $5 or less, we will provde the documents at no charge.
  4. The Commission charges $5 per CD for electronic versions of certain documents (if available in electronic form).

Timing

The practice of the Commission is to strive to fully comply with the request within ten calendar days. If this is not possible, the Commission will notify you with an estimate of the date the records will be made available.

The ten-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt. If the request is received after 5pm on a weekday, or on a weekend or holiday, the next business day will be considered the date of receipt.