North Carolina Public Records law is found in G.S. Chapter 132. The statute provides a definition of what a public record is and outlines the method in which public records requests should be submitted. Public records requests will be processed as promptly as possible and we will provide copies of records requested in a first-come, first-served manner. More complex requests may take longer.

If the request is for a public record that does not exist, the County does not create or compile such records outside of its regular business needs.

Pursuant to NCGS §132-6.2(b) and other applicable law, Union County may charge a special service charge for any request that requires extensive use of information technology or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by County personnel.

If a request is estimated to take more than four hours of collective staff time to produce, the County will charge a reasonable fee of $40 per hour (in excess of the initial four hours) to search, locate, collect, sort, copy, and prepare the records to be produced. 

The special service charge will be in addition to any copying fees that are assessed. An estimated or not-to-exceed amount for a special service charge will be provided to the requester in advance. Payment must be obtained prior to responding to the request. If costs exceed the estimate, the requestor will be notified, and additional approval and payment will be obtained, prior to the completion of the request.

Multiple requests regarding the same topic made within a short period of time (five business days) from the same individual or organization will be treated as a single request for the purposes of determining whether special service fees are levied. A public records request is not continuing in nature and only applies to public records that exist as of the date is request is submitted. If additional records are created after the date of requestor’s original request, then the requestor must submit a new public records request.