The Alabama Open Records Law,  § 36-12-40, Code of Alabama 1975, provides that “[e]very citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute.”

Our public records policy:
It is the policy of the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) to comply with §36-12-40 to allow citizens to inspect and take a copy of public records maintained by this office, unless the record is exempt from public disclosure. In accordance with state and federal laws, some department records may not be open for public inspection. For example, ongoing criminal investigations, tax returns and financial statements are examples of restricted records. In addition, certain records such as motor vehicle title and registration records have specific statutory disclosure requirements and are not subject to open record requests. Draft documents, such as versions of proposed administrative rules and legislation, used internally by ALDOR are not subject to disclosure under the Open Records Law. Draft documents shared externally, as well as internal and external correspondence, such as emails, on possible actions to be taken by ALDOR, are also not subject to disclosure (see Attorney General Opinion 2017-036).

What to expect:
We strive to respond as promptly as possible to all public record requests we receive consistent with the demands of our agency’s functions as determined by state law.

The nature of your request will dictate how promptly we respond. If your request very clearly identifies a specific, discrete document you are looking for, we will respond more quickly than if your request requires substantial staff time to process. A request will require substantial staff time to process if it requires difficulty in identifying and retrieving documents or taking measures to redact or otherwise withhold legally protected information.

We are permitted by state law to charge reasonable fees in connection with processing public records requests. Citizens may make copies of available public records using their own equipment while viewing them at the offices of ALDOR. There will be a charge of 50 cents per page for copies of public records made by employees using state-owned copiers. Citizens must pay any outside costs incurred by ALDOR for providing copies of public records requested by citizens. We will notify you in advance of the fees you likely will incur as a result of your request.

Questions:
You may contact ALDOR’s public records coordinator at public.records@revenue.alabama.gov.

Submitting a public record request:
Citizens wishing to obtain copies of public records must complete the fillable PDF request form and email the completed form to public.records@revenue.alabama.gov, or mail the completed form to:

Public Record Requests
Alabama Department of Revenue
50 North Ripley Street, Room 4131
Montgomery, AL 36132-8510