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Public Records Office


The Public Records Office is managed by the Town Clerk. Anyone wishing to request a Public Record (s) may do so by submitting a request in writing.

What is a Public Record?

Public record or "public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions while conducting public business. North Carolina’s public records law provides a broad right of access to records of public agencies. The main statutes that define the scope of the law are contained in Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes. When a government maintains records for its own operational purposes, the public enjoys a general right to inspect and copy those records (subject, of course, to statutory exceptions). A government entity is not required to maintain records that the government has no need for itself or create a record in order to fulfill a request.

What is the response time? 

North Carolina’s public records law requires custodians of records to allow public records to be inspected “at reasonable times and under reasonable supervision” and copies to be provided “as promptly as possible.”10 The law does not set a specific time within which an agency must respond. What constitutes a reasonable or prompt response will depend on the nature of the request and the available personnel and other resources available to the agency that receives the request.


For more information.... About North Carolina Public Records Law | North Carolina Judicial Branch (nccourts.gov)

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