Find the entity’s data-request policy
Minnesota’s Data Practices Office recommends contacting the government entity that has the information and locating its responsible authority or designated contact. Ask for the public-data request policy. You generally do not have to identify yourself to request public data, but the way you receive a response may require contact details. Requests for data about yourself follow additional identity procedures.
Describe existing records precisely
Specify the record type, agency or program, identifiers, and date range. For spending research, ask for a defined payment export or contract file rather than “all information about waste.” Search published budgets, reports, and meeting packets first. The template below is an editable starting point; adapt it to the entity’s actual procedures.
Use this template
To the responsible authority for [entity]: I request access to public government data concerning [specific subject or identifier]. The records requested are [record types] for [start date] through [end date]. Please provide existing electronic records in their existing format where available. Please contact me before charging more than [fee limit]. If any requested data are not public, please identify the specific legal basis and provide the public portions that can be released. Please let me know if clarification would help identify the records.
Read the response in context
A records response can contain redactions, refer you to a different holder, or explain that an entity does not maintain the requested data. That does not by itself show concealment. Keep the request, correspondence, fee discussion, and response together. Ask a focused clarification if the records do not match the scope you intended.
Audit records can have additional limits
Both OSA and OLA publish data-request instructions. OLA explains that workpapers and information related to ongoing work may be subject to nonpublic classifications. A public final report does not imply that every underlying record is immediately available. Consult the official policy and applicable law for the specific request; this guide does not promise disclosure or a deadline.
Working tool
Draft a Minnesota data request
Inputs stay in this page. No submission, account, or data upload.
Review the entity’s official policy before submitting. This does not send a request.
Sources and further reading
Use these original sources to verify the explanation and check for changes. Practical worksheets and hypothetical examples on this page are our synthesis.