Data Access

The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act gives you, and all other members of the public, the right to see and have copies of all public data that government entities keep. The law also controls how government entities keep government data and how they respond to requests for data.

While this page covers the Department of Administration's policies and procedures related to access to government data, Admin's Data Practices Office more broadly provides assistance and advice on data practices and open meetings to the Minnesota public and government.

Your Rights as the Subject of Government Data
Several state laws protect your privacy rights with regard to the information we collect, use and disseminate about you. These rights are described below. The information that we collect about you may be classified as one or more of the following:

Public - anyone can see the information
Private - only you can see the information
Confidential - you cannot see the information.
- You have the right to be informed, upon request, whether you are a subject of government data and the classification of that data.
- You have the right to be shown any public and private information we have on you at no charge.
- You have the right to have copies of any public or private information we have on you but you may be charged a reasonable fee.
- We will provide copies of the requested data about you immediately, if possible, or within ten working days.
- You have the right to contest the accuracy and completeness of any public or private data we have on you.
- You have the right to appeal any decision we make about your challenge to the accuracy and completeness.
- If you are under the age of 18, you have the right to ask us to withhold information about you from your parents or guardians.
- You have the right to consent or revoke consent to the release of information we have on you.
- You have the right to release all, part, or none of the private data we have on you.
How to Request Public Data
You can ask to look at (inspect) data at our offices or ask for copies of public data that we keep. Data requests must be in writing and must be mailed or emailed to Admin’s Data Practices Compliance Official (“DPCO”) or another appropriate designee listed in the Data Practices Contacts in the Data Access Policy for Members of the Public (PDF). Requests related to state contracts or past solicitations should be made through the online form through the Office of State Procurement.

We recommend using the sample Data Request Form in the Data Access Policy for Members of the Public (PDF). If you do not use the data request form, your request should:
- Say that you are making a request for public data under the Government Data Practices Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13).
- Include whether you would like to inspect the data, have copies of the data, or both.
Provide a clear description of the data you would like to inspect or have copied. You are not required to identify yourself or explain the reason for your data request. However, you may need to provide us with some personal information for practical reasons (for example: if you want us to mail copies to you, you need to provide us with an address or P.O Box). If we do not understand your request and have no way to contact you, we cannot respond to your request.
How We Will Respond to Your Data Request
Upon receiving your request, we will review it.
- We may ask you to clarify what data you are requesting.
- If we do not have the data, we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible.
- If we have the data, but we are not allowed to give it to you, we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible and identify the law that prevents us from providing the data.
- If we have the data, and the data are public, we will respond to your request appropriately and promptly, within a reasonable amount of time by doing one of the following:
  - Arrange a date, time, and place for you to inspect the data at our offices; or
  - Tell you the amount you owe for copy costs, and then provide you with copies of the data as soon as reasonably possible after you pay them. You may choose to pick up your copies, or we will mail or email them to you. We will provide electronic copies (such as email or CD-ROM) upon request, if we keep the data in that format and we can reasonably make a copy.
  - Response time may be impacted by the size and/or complexity of your request, and also by the number of requests you make in a given period of time.
- If you do not arrange to inspect the data or pay for the copies within 15 business days after we tell you the data are ready, we will conclude that you no longer want the data and will consider your request closed.
If you do not understand some of the data (technical terminology, abbreviations, or acronyms), please tell the person who provided the data to you. We will give you an explanation if you ask.

The Data Practices Act does not require us to create or collect new data in response to a data request, or to provide data in a specific form or arrangement if we do not keep the data in that form or arrangement. For example, if the data you request are on paper only, we are not required to create electronic documents to respond to your request. If we agree to create data in response to your request, we will work with you on the details of your request, including cost and response time.

We are also not required to respond to questions that are not about your data requests, or requests for government data.
Agency Data Practices Policies

Requests for Data About You and Your Rights as a Data Subject (July 2024 - PDF)

Data Access Policy for Members of the Public (July 2024 - PDF)

Categories of data maintained by the Minnesota Department of Administration (July 2024 - PDF)

Policy for Ensuring the Security of Not Public Data (July 2024 - PDF)

Admin Website Privacy and Security Disclaimers