The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guarantees citizens of Virginia and certain representatives of the media access to public records held by Albemarle County. Public records are documents possessed by the County and that are used in the transaction of public business.

Making a Request for Records

FOIA requests may be made directly via the online submission form.

Citizens may also direct their requests to the appropriate staff contact for each department, listed in the table at the bottom of this page.

If you are unsure where to send your request, or if you have questions about FOIA, contact the County’s FOIA Officer, James Douglas, at 434-972-4067 ext. 7930 or jdouglas@albemarle.org.

Media inquiries should be sent to Abbey Stumpf, Communications and Public Engagement Manager, at 434-296-5841 x3368 or astumpf@albemarle.org.

FOIA Request Tips

• Directing your request to a department’s FOIA contact will help us to quickly fulfill your request.
• Putting your request in writing is appreciated and helps ensure that you receive an accurate response.
• The request must be for existing records or documents. If you request information rather than records, we will respond with documents that contain that information, but will not create documents that do not already exist.

FOIA Rights

When requesting records from the County, you have the right to:

• Request to inspect or receive copies of public records, or both.
• Request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
• Receive a response within five working days.
• Be told why certain records are being withheld.

If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. Alternatively, you may contact the Freedom of Information Act Advisory Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion.

Albemarle County’s Responsibilities in Responding to a Request

The County responds to requests within five working days of receiving a request. "Day One" is considered the day after the request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays.

If it not possible for the County to process your request within five days, the County may notify you that it requires up to seven additional working days to do so.

Costs

• Requests taking longer than 30 minutes to complete may be subject to a charge.
• Requests estimated to cost over $200 may require a deposit before being fulfilled.
• You may ask the County to estimate costs before fulfilling your request.

If you owe money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, the County may require payment of the past-due bill before it will respond to the new FOIA request.

A public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and shall make all reasonable efforts to supply the requested records at the lowest possible cost. No public body shall impose any extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records or transacting the general business of the public body. Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication. Prior to conducting a search for records, the public body shall notify the requestor in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for the requested records and inquire of the requestor whether he would like to request a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records as set forth in subsection F of § 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.

FOIA Contacts by Department