Maryland Public Information Act Requests

Generally

To review or obtain copies of University of Maryland records, you must make a written request under Maryland’s Public Information Act (“PIA”). The Maryland PIA, which gives the public the right to review and obtain copies of disclosable public records, is found in the State Government Article, §§10-611 through 10-630, of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

To Submit a Request

For Electronic Requests You may make your request electronically by submitting the electronic form.

For U.S. Mail Requests

You also may make a PIA request by U.S. mail or by other land carriers. These can only be received when the University is open for business. In order for the University to process your request, you must specify in detail the records that you are requesting and provide a mailing address that includes a U.S. street address, city, state, and zip code. Please mail your request to:

The Office of Legal Affairs
2101 Main Administration Building
University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, Maryland 20742
Attn: Public Information Request

Processing

1. Upon receipt, the University will perform a preliminary assessment of your request to determine if we are the appropriate custodian. We will also review the request for completeness.

2. The PIA, at Section 10-621, permits the University to charge for the search, preparation and reproduction of a public record to be made available for inspection -- excluding the first two hours.

3. Copies of the records will be provided upon payment of an additional fee of $0.25 per page.

4. To offer the most efficient customer service, we will inform you of, and require payment for, any anticipated amount due before the work is performed.

5. Upon receipt of the total estimated fee, we will begin the search, preparation and reproduction process.

6. If the actual fee differs from the estimate, the fee will be adjusted accordingly, and you will receive an additional bill or refund as appropriate.

7. Please make your money order or check payable to the “University of Maryland” and forward it to our office at the address below. You may also hand-deliver this payment. We do not accept cash through the mail. We also do not accept credit cards or PayPal.

8. If the University does not receive your payment within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of our reply, then we will presume that you are no longer interested in pursuing this request and close our file accordingly. If the documents are still desired, a new request must be submitted.

9. Those who disagree with any response to a PIA request, may seek review of the decision in accordance with Section 10-623 of the PIA.

10. Comments or questions may be directed to: PublicInformationAct@umd.edu