Request for Access to Government Records (OPRA)

To request to examine or obtain copies of public records, please download the request form, complete it, and either bring to the Clerk's Office in Morristown Town Hall or fax to 973-644-4374.
 
This form has been adopted by the Municipal Clerk as Custodian of Records; requests for access to or copies of government records must be submitted on this form and be signed and dated or submitted by email.
 
Some records may be available immediately during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.).  These include budgets, bills, vouchers, contracts (including collective bargaining agreements), individual employment contracts, and public employee salary and overtime information.  Minutes of public meetings are available immediately after they are approved. 
 
Some records will require time to compile and/or to copy, but will normally be available within seven (7) business days unless another schedule has been established by Statute.  If any document or copy requested is not a public record or will require longer than seven (7) business days to retrieve, you will be advised of this within seven (7) business days, as well as the date on which the record will be available.
 
There is no fee for simply examining a document; unless otherwise established by Statute, copies of printed records will be charged as follows:
  • $0.05 per page for letter sized pages and smaller
  • $0.07 per page for legal sized pages and larger
  • Records that exceed the $0.05 and $0.07 rates will be charged the actual cost of duplication
  • Records provided in another medium (i.e. Computer disc, CD-ROM, DVD), will be charged actual cost.
  • Electronic records are FREE OF CHARGE (i.e. email and fax)
 
(When a request for a police accident report is not made in person, there is an additional fee of $5.00 for the first three pages and; $1.00 for each additional page, as provided by N.J.S.A. 39:4-131.)
 
Where a request for a copy of a record is in a format other than photocopy (e.g., videotape, audiotape, disc, etc.) reasonable efforts will be made to provide the record in the format requested.  In that case, cost will be determined by the actual cost incurred to reproduce the record.
 
The term "public records" generally includes those records determined to be public in accordance with N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.  The term does not include employee personnel files, police investigation records, public assistance files or other matters in which there is a right to privacy or confidentiality; nor does it include inter-agency or intra-agency advisory, consultative, or deliberative material, or other material which is specifically exempted by law.  Where a legal determination must be made as to whether a record is a "public record,"as provided by law, the request will be reviewed by the Municipal Attorney.