Office of Open Records Appeal Information
Submitting an Appeal to the OOR
The simplest and best way to prepare an appeal is to use the official OOR Appeal Form.
The OOR Appeals Form can be used to appeal full denials, partial denials, and deemed denials (i.e., when the agency doesn't respond by the deadline), as well as to appeal any fees being charged by the agency.
The OOR prefers to receive appeals through the online form, or via e-mail as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF attachment.
E-mail Attachment Formats: Appeals filed via e-mail may include PDF, Microsoft Word (doc, docx, or rtf), Microsoft Excel (xls or xlsx), and image file (jpg, png, gif, or tiff) attachments. If an appeal to be filed via e-mail includes an attachment of any other format, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Any other formats may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.
E-mail Attachment Filesize: If an appeal to be filed via e-mail includes an attachment exceeding 4MB, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Attachments exceeding 4MB may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.
Appeals may also be submitted via fax (717-425-5343) or postal mail:
Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
333 Market St.
16th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
In-person submissions are accepted at the Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 333 Market St. 16th floor, Harrisburg, PA, during normal business hours.
The deadline for an appeal submitted electronically (e-mail or fax) is 11:59:59 p.m. on the 15th business day from the mailing date of the Agency's response or the date that the request was deemed denied. For in-person submissions and submissions via postal mail, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the 15th business day.
The simplest and best way to prepare an appeal is to use the official OOR Appeal Form.
The OOR Appeals Form can be used to appeal full denials, partial denials, and deemed denials (i.e., when the agency doesn't respond by the deadline), as well as to appeal any fees being charged by the agency.
The OOR prefers to receive appeals through the online form, or via e-mail as a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDF attachment.
E-mail Attachment Formats: Appeals filed via e-mail may include PDF, Microsoft Word (doc, docx, or rtf), Microsoft Excel (xls or xlsx), and image file (jpg, png, gif, or tiff) attachments. If an appeal to be filed via e-mail includes an attachment of any other format, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Any other formats may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.
E-mail Attachment Filesize: If an appeal to be filed via e-mail includes an attachment exceeding 4MB, call the Office of Open Records (717-346-9903) before sending it. Attachments exceeding 4MB may be rejected by Commonwealth servers.
Appeals may also be submitted via fax (717-425-5343) or postal mail:
Office of Open Records
Commonwealth Keystone Building
333 Market St.
16th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
In-person submissions are accepted at the Office of Open Records, Commonwealth Keystone Building, 333 Market St. 16th floor, Harrisburg, PA, during normal business hours.
The deadline for an appeal submitted electronically (e-mail or fax) is 11:59:59 p.m. on the 15th business day from the mailing date of the Agency's response or the date that the request was deemed denied. For in-person submissions and submissions via postal mail, the deadline is 5:00 p.m. on the 15th business day.