Open Records Let­ter Ruling

ORLs

If you received a ruling from the Office of the Attorney General and have questions concerning that ruling, visit the page about questions regarding open records letter rulings.

Open Records Letter Rulings comprise the bulk of the Open Records Division's workload. More than 40,000 Open Records Letter Rulings were issued in 2023. These informal letter rulings are based on established law and practice and are signed by assistant attorneys general in the Open Records Division.

Unlike Open Records Decisions, these informal letter rulings are applicable only to the specific documents and circumstances surrounding them; therefore, Open Records Letter Rulings should not be cited as precedent when briefing to the Office of the Attorney General.

Copies of Open Records Letter Rulings issued prior to December 21, 2023, may be found on this page.

However, the 88th Legislature passed House Bill 3033, requiring the Open Records Division to provide a publicly accessible and searchable database of letter ruling requests and corresponding decisions issued under the Public Information Act (PIA). The requirements for this database may be found in section 552.310 of the Government Code. Copies of Open Records Letter Rulings for requests for rulings made on or after December 21, 2023, may be found in this database, which is linked below.