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Document Information
The Document Information section of this site contains answers to these questions:
 How do I request a document?
What documents may I request?
How do I receive the documents?
How much will the document cost?
How Do I Request a Document?
- The form to request a public record may be obtained by:
- Once you receive the form, fill it out completely.
- Only one document may be requested on a single form. If you wish to request more than one document, please complete a separate form for each document.
- Please sign and date Section VI, even if you are requesting only to inspect or examine, not copy, a document. If this is an anonymous request, please mark the signature line with an 'X'.
- A complete form may be mailed, hand delivered or faxed to the Office of the Custodian of Public Records.
- The Custodian of Public Records will begin fulfilling the request the first business day after the completed Document Request Form is received.
- Officers and employees other than the designated Custodian of Public Records are not authorized to receive and respond to such requests without the Custodian's approval. All requests must be made to the University's Custodian of Public Records.
What Types of Documents May I Request?
As a health sciences university, we handle many different types of documents. Due to federal law, some of these documents must remain private or be requested through an office other than the Office of the Custodian of Public Records.
Student Records
Student records or other documents pertaining to applicants, existing or past students must be requested through the Registrar's office. Disclosure of this information is guided by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The Custodian of Public Records will not provide access to student information.
Patient Health Information
Patient health information, including medical records, may not be released by the Custodian of Public Records. Disclosure of this information is guided by state and federal confidentiality laws including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its corresponding regulations. Such information may only be released with written authorization of the patient.
Excluded Documents
Documents excluded under the new "Right to Know" law, and therefore not available for copying or inspection by the public through the Custodian of Public Records, include the following:
- Inter-agency or intra-agency advisory, consultative or deliberative material.
- Information received by a member of the Legislature from a constituent or information held by a member of the Legislature concerning a constituent (including any written record, e-mail, computer data base or any telephone record).
- Any memorandum, correspondence, notes, report or other communication prepared by, or for, the specific use of a member of the Legislature in the course of the member's official duties.
- Any Medical Examiner or autopsy photograph (including any copy, reproduction, facsimile, negative, print, instant photograph or videotape).
- Criminal investigatory records.
- Victim's records.
- Trade secrets and proprietary commercial or financial information obtained from any source (includes data processing software obtained under a licensing agreement which prohibits its disclosure).
- Any record within the attorney-client privilege (however, attorney or consultant bills or invoices which have been redacted to remove any attorney-client privileged information are considered government records).
- Administrative or technical information regarding computer hardware, software and networks which, if disclosed, would jeopardize computer security.
- Emergency or security information or procedures for any buildings or facility which, if disclosed, would jeopardize security of the building or facility or the persons therein.
- Security measures and surveillance techniques which, if disclosed, would create a risk to the safety of persons, property, electronic data or software.
- Information which, if disclosed, would give an advantage to competitors or bidders.
- Information generated by or on behalf of public employers or public employees in connection with any sexual harassment complaint filed with a public employer or with any grievance filed by or against an individual or in connection with collective negotiations, including documents and statements of strategy or negotiating position.
- Information which is a communication between a public agency and its insurance carrier, administrative service organization or risk management office.
- Information which is to be kept confidential pursuant to court order.
- That portion of any document which discloses the social security number, credit card number, unlisted telephone number, driver license number of any person (with certain exceptions).
- Biotechnology trade secrets and related confidential information submitted to a public agency when required pursuant to federal law or regulation.
- Records pertaining to an investigation in progress by any public agency when it is deemed that inspection, copying or examination of such records would be inimical to the public interest (however, this provision does not allow a public agency to prohibit access to a record of that agency that was open for public inspection, examination or copying before the investigation commenced).
- Information concerning a criminal investigation which would normally be made available to the public within 24 hours may be withheld where it appears that the information requested or to be examined will jeopardize the safety of any person, jeopardize any investigation in progress, or may be otherwise inappropriate to release. This exception will be narrowly construed to prevent disclosure of information that would be harmful to a bona fide law enforcement purpose or the public safety.
- Files maintained by the Office of the Public Defender that relate to the handling of any case shall be considered confidential and shall not be open to inspection to any person unless authorized by law, court order, or the State Public Defender.
- With respect to any public institution of higher education, the following are not included in the definition of government record:
- Pedagogical, scholarly and/or academic research records and/or the specific details of any research project conducted under the auspices of a public higher education institution in New Jersey (except for that part of the record which gives the name, title, expenditures, source and amounts of funding and date when the final project summary of any research will be available).
- Test questions, scoring keys and other examination data pertaining to the administration of an examination for employment or academic examination.
- Records of pursuit of charitable contributions or records containing the identity of a donor of a gift if the donor requires non-disclosure of the donor's identity as a condition of making the gift (with certain exceptions).
- Valuable or rare collections of books and/or documents obtained by gift, grant, bequest or devise conditioned upon limited public access.
- Information contained on individual admission applications.
- Information concerning student records or grievances or disciplinary proceedings against a student to the extent disclosure would reveal the identity of the student.
- Any exemption of a public record or government record from public access heretofore made pursuant to this statute; any other statute; resolution of either or both houses of the Legislature; regulation promulgated under the authority of any statute or Executive Order of the Governor; Executive Order of the Governor; Rules of Court; any federal law, federal regulation or federal order.
NOTE: Except where an agency can demonstrate an emergent need, a regulation that limits access to government records shall not be retroactive in effect or applied to deny a pending request for access to a government record.
- The provisions of this Act shall not abrogate or erode any executive or legislative privilege or grant of confidentiality heretofore established or recognized by the Constitution of this State, statute, court rule or judicial case law, which privilege or grant of confidentiality may duly be claimed to restrict public access to a public record or government record.
- The personnel or pension records of any individual in the possession of a public agency, including but not limited to records relating to any grievance filed by or against an individual, shall not be considered a government record and shall not be made available for public access. Except that the following shall be considered a government record:
- An individual's name, title, position, salary payroll record, length of service, date of separation and the reason therefore, and the amount and type of any pension received.
- Personnel or pension records of any individual shall be accessible when required to be disclosed by another law, when disclosure is essential to the performance of official duties of a person duly authorized by this State or the United States, or when authorized by an individual in interest.
- Data contained in information which disclose conformity with specific experiential, educational or medical qualifications required for government employment or for receipt of a public pension, but not including any detailed medical or psychological information.
- Material not made, maintained or kept on file in the course of official business.
- Material not received in the course of official business.
How Do I Receive the Documents?
How do I receive a copy or inspect the document?
The Custodian of Public Record will notify you that either your document is ready or additional time is needed. The Custodian will notify you in at least one of three ways:
With a letter in the mail; or A phone call, or An email, if available.
Once you receive notice that your document is ready, you may come to pick up the document at the Custodian of Public Record at:
Department of University Affairs, Suite 1328
65 Bergen St., Newark, NJ 07107
Phone: (973) 972-3700
Fax: (973) 972-7297
How Much will the Document Cost?
- Copying charge is $0.05 per page letter size and $0.07 per page legal size.
- The Office of the Custodian of Public Records has the right to charge for special handling, including, but not limited to retrieving documents from off-site storage, extraordinary copying requirements or transferring data medium. A list of such charges are available at the Office of the Custodian of Public Records. The Office of the Custodian of Public Records requires full payment of such charges at the time the document is inspected or received.
- Where a request for a copy in a format other than a photocopy, reasonable efforts will be made to provide information in that format requested. The cost will be based on costs of producing the format requested.
- The Office of the Custodian of Public Records will accept only cash, cashier's check or money order, made payable to UMDNJ.
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