What a records request is
A public records request is a written demand that a government body hand over documents it already holds. It is not a research service: agencies are obliged to produce existing records, not to answer questions, create new documents, or draw conclusions on your behalf. Framing a request as a question is the most common reason it comes back empty.
At the federal level the mechanism is the Freedom of Information Act. Every state has its own analogue, and they differ substantially — in who counts as a requester, what fees apply, and how long an agency may take. There is no single national public records law covering state and local bodies.
