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What is a Record

The Freedom of Information Law defines a record to be “any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever.” Under the law, all records are accessible, except records or portions of records that fall within one of nine categories of deniable records as stated in §87(2) of the Public Officer’s Law. Furthermore, the law provides access to existing records, and therefore, an agency need not create a record in response to a request. Because the majority of records maintained in the Clerk’s Office are already deemed to be public records, the Freedom of Information Law is redundant. Copies may easily be obtained by requesting same in person or in writing by simply addressing your request to the Clerk’s Office without resort to the Freedom of Information provisions.

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