Circuit Court Clerk's Office

FOIA

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests

Please note that the vast majority of documents produced, protected and maintained by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, are public records and therefore are not subject to FOIA. However, if your request does include documents outside of the public record, a FOIA request may be appropriate.

Court Records

Most court records may be obtained without a Freedom of Information Act Request. Court records copy requests can be made in person at the courthouse or by email to [email protected]. Your request will be acknowledged upon receipt and most simple record requests can be processed and satisfied within one (1) day.

Freedom of Information Act Requests can be made by mail or email to [email protected]. Your request will be acknowledged upon receipt, and you will be given a time estimate for completion of your request, based on the complexity of same.

Land Records

All land records are public records. Please see our Land Records page for instructions for accessing land records.

Certain Elections Materials

For sixty (60) days following an election, Election Return Sheets are available for public inspection. After the sixty (60) day period, the documents are sealed until eligible for destruction. If you wish to view these documents after the sixty (60) day period has passed, you should direct your request to the County or City Electoral Board only by formal action of the County or City Electoral Board may these sealed documents be accessed. (Va. Code §24.2-658)

All other elections materials are maintained by the County or City Office of Elections and Electoral Board. This includes, but is not limited to the following: ballots, ballot images, ballot reproductions, counted ballots, uncounted ballots, etc. (Va. Code §24.2-669)

Costs Assessed Pursuant to FOIA

Prior to submitting a FOIA request, you should be aware that you may have to pay for the copies you request. In addition to the copy charges listed above, you may be charged a fee for government employees’ time, postage and any other charges incurred in responding to your request. This charge DOES NOT include general overhead costs.

Request for a FOIA Cost Estimate

You may request an estimate in advance the charges for supplying the records that you have requested. Upon a cost estimate request, the timeline of the request will be put on hold until the requester indicates whether or not to proceed with the request based on the estimate.

Deposit

If we estimate that it will cost more than $200 to respond to your request, we may require you to pay a deposit, not to exceed the amount of the estimate, before proceeding with your request. The deposit shall be credited toward the final cost of supplying the requested records. In the event the actual cost of providing the records is less than the deposit, the difference will be refunded to the requester. Upon a cost deposit request, the timeline of the request will be put on hold until the requester makes payment of the deposit and in the case of payment by check or credit card, the funds clear the bank.

Unpaid Balance

If you owe us money from a previous FOIA request that has remained unpaid for more than 30 days, you may be required to pay the past-due bill before we will provide a substantive response to your later FOIA request(s).