The
Texas Public Information Act (Texas Open Records Act), Chapter 552, Texas Government Code, establishes requirements for governmental bodies to respond to written requests for access and/or reproductions of public information.
Charges for reproductions are governed by the State of Texas Attorney General's Office rules on charges.
To request information from the City of Dallas please submit a written request. Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the City to accurately identify and locate the information requested. Include your contact information: name, address, and telephone number. Your written request can be sent directly to the director of the department (Department list) you believe most likely has the information, in order to speed the response. You may also phone the department directly, (Department phone numbers), since some questions may be answered by phone. The
Police Department has a special division for responding to their open records requests at (214) 671-3343. The
Mayor and City Councilmembers may be contacted directly, and this contact information can be found on each official's page.
If you do not know what department has the information you want, you may send your request to the
Open Records Request Center and that office will route the request to the correct department.
Please note that the
Public Information Act requires the City to provide copies of existing records, but does not require the City to create records that do not now exist. Also note that the Act provides a detailed list of certain types of records that are prohibited or excluded from disclosure.
The City is responsible for providing City records, and not records owned by Dallas County or other governmental entities.
See also: