Alabama Open Records Act Request

Under the Alabama Open Records Act, Alabama Code § 36-12-40, et seq., every citizen of the State of Alabama has a right to inspect and/or copy public records of the State, subject to exceptions provided by applicable law. To submit an open records request to the University of South Alabama, email a completed Open Records Request Form and any necessary attachments to USAOpenRecords@southalabama.edu. The University will acknowledge any proper request within ten (10) business days of receipt.

Upon receipt, all requests will be classified as one of the following:

• Standard Request: A request that seeks one or more specifically and discretely identified public records that the University determines will take less than eight (8) hours of staff time to process (e.g., identify, retrieve, and redact records).
• Time-Intensive Request: A request that the University determines would take more than eight (8) hours of staff time to process (e.g., identify, retrieve, and redact records).

The University may require payment of a reasonable fee for any open records request, which must be received by the University prior to the release of the requested records. Payment must be made by check payable to the “University of South Alabama” and should be directed to:

Office of General Counsel
Attn: Open Records
307 N. University Blvd., AD 140
Mobile, AL 36688-0002

Please include reference to your specific open records request so that the payment can be identified as associated with your pending open records request. Failure to do so may result in additional delay.

The University will provide a substantive response to your request within fifteen (15) business days of acknowledging receipt of a Standard Request and within forty-five (45) business days of acknowledging receipt of a Time-Intensive Request. In the University’s sole discretion, a substantive response may be delayed in additional fifteen (15) or forty-five (45) day increments, respectively, upon written notice to you.