California Public Records Act (CPRA)
The California Public Records Act protects the rights of journalists and members of the public to request information from government agencies.
(Government Code section 7920.000 et seq.)
Submitting a Request
- To submit a request for records. Complete the Public Records Request Form
- Email requests to, CPRA@fppc.ca.gov
- For all mail-in requests, submit all requests to: Fair Political Practices Commission, 1102 Q Street, Suite 3050, Sacramento, CA 95811.
Guidelines for Access to Public Records
Please provide the following information:
- Name or organization (if any).
- Contact information.
- A mailing address, telephone/fax number, and email address.
- Provide a specific description of the records requested. Requestors should indicate specific names, entities, divisions, and complaint/case numbers.
Logging and Tracking
CPRA requests will be logged and assigned a CPRA number for tracking purposes. Your request and our response are public records, which may be disclosed to the public upon receipt of a proper request for disclosure.
Transmittal and Cost
- Responses will generally be mailed or emailed.
- The Commission charges 10 cents per page for copies (including copies that are made for email).
- If the copying charges are $5 or less, we will provide the documents at no charge.
- The Commission charges $5 per CD for electronic versions of certain documents (if available in electronic form).
Timing
The Commission strives to fully comply with the request within ten calendar days. If this is not possible, the CPRA coordinator will notify you of an estimated date by which the records will be available.
The ten-day response period starts with the first calendar day after the date of receipt. If the request is received after 5 p.m. on a weekday, or on a weekend or holiday, the next business day will be considered the date of receipt.
Common Requests
Submitting a CPRA request to obtain these forms is unnecessary. To promote compliance and increase government transparency, Form 700 Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) for many state and local officials can be accessed through the Form 700 Search Portal.
To request a Form 700 not found on our website, you may email press@fppc.ca.gov.
Form 462, is filed by committees or individuals making independent expenditures. However, similar to Form 700, submitting a CPRA request to obtain these forms is unnecessary.
To request a Form 462, you may email Form462@fppc.ca.gov.
The Act specifies when and where candidates and committees must file campaign statements. However, these statements are not filed with the FPPC. To see where certain filings are maintained, please review the FPPC Forms page. You should contact the appropriate filing office if you wish to obtain copies of campaign statements.
Generally, candidates and committees involved in state elections (constitutional officers, Senate, Assembly, statewide ballot measures) file with the Secretary of State’s office. The Political Reform Division of the Secretary of State’s office provides public access to campaign statements in its possession. Electronic filings of campaign statements for state candidates and state committees can be found on the Secretary of State’s office Cal-Access website.
Candidates and committees involved in county, city, or special district elections file with their local elections office. To promote compliance and increase government transparency, campaign statements for many local officials can be searched for on the Local Campaign Filings AB 2151 page.