Data Access Policy

Responsible Authority: Jessica Palmer-Denig, Chief Administrative Law Judge

Data Practices Compliance Official: Abigail Rankin, General Counsel

Right to Access Public Data 

As provided by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, all government data is public unless a specific state or federal law says otherwise. “Government data” includes all recorded information in the possession of a government entity, including printed documents, emails, digital recordings, photographs, etc. 

You have the right to request and inspect public data received and maintained by the Court of Administrative Hearings (CAH) free of charge. CAH may charge for copies of public data. You may look at public data, free of charge, before deciding whether to pay for copies.  

Requesting Data 

To request data, complete and submit the form below. You may ask for specific types of data, specific documents or portions of documents, or entire records or files by completing the form below. You do not have to give a reason. Your contact information may be needed to provide copies to you. When making a request, please state whether you would like to look at the data in person, receive copies, or both.

CAH is not required to create or collect new data or provide data in a specific form or arrangement. For example, if the data is in paper form only, CAH is not required to create electronic documents. CAH will try to work with you to satisfy the specifics of your request.

If the requested data is not public, CAH may deny the request or may redact not public information from its response. CAH will notify you of any reason for denial or redaction. 

Cost of Copies

Data Subjects

Data subjects may be charged the actual cost for an employee to make and transmit paper copies or copies of electronically stored data, including material costs. If the total cost is $50 or more, CAH requires prepayment before providing the copies. 

Members of the Public

For paper copy requests of 100 pages or fewer, CAH charges 25 cents per page of public data printed or copied. For other requests, CAH may charge the actual cost of searching for and retrieving the data, making copies, and/or electronically sending data. If the total cost is $50 or more, CAH requires prepayment before providing the copies.

Calculating Actual Costs

CAH may charge $30 per hour of staff time required to search for, retrieve, and prepare copies of the data. If, based on your request, we find it necessary for a higher-paid employee to search for and retrieve the data, we will calculate search and retrieval charges at that higher wage rate. 

In determining the actual cost of making copies, we include employee time, the cost of the materials onto which we are copying the data (paper, CD, DVD, etc.), and mailing costs (if any). If we are required to engage a third party, like Minnesota IT Services or an outside vendor, to process your request, we will charge you the actual cost we must pay the third party for the copies.