Office of The General Counsel

On July 7, 2002, the Open Public Records Act (P.L 2001, s.404) became effective. This law expands the public’s right of access to government records and facilitates the way in which that access is provided by the custodian of those records.
There are both general and specific exemptions that apply to the definition of “government record.” The Government Records Council’s website contains useful information on the law:

www.nj.gov/grc

OPRA Requests

OPRA requests are processed through the Essex County College Custodian of Public Records, located in the Office of Compliance and Equity, 6th Floor, Newark Campus. The College utilizes NextRequest in order to process OPRA requests more effectively. NextRequest allows requesters to create an account and log in to the portal to view the request, messages, and any documents that have been released. Submit requests directly through the web portal via https://essexcountycollegenj.nextrequest.com/. New users will receive a prompt to set up an account after a request is submitted.

Requestors may continue to use the OPRA Request Form and attach it to the request. Fees and other information may be found on the form:

OPRA Request Form with InstructionsDownload


Essex County College
303 University Avenue
Newark, NJ 07102
[email protected]

Records Access

Upon receipt of the OPRA request, the Records Custodian will provide the records in accordance with applicable law. OPRA provides that records are to be made accessible within seven (7) business days, unless they are in storage, archived, or otherwise cannot be made available within that time. If the records cannot be made available within seven (7) business days, the Records Custodian will advise the requestor in writing when the record can be made available. Additionally, when responding to the OPRA request, the Records Custodian will notify the requestor, in writing, whether the records will be provided, in whole or in part, or, if they will not be provided, and state the reasons why the requested records or some part thereof will not be provided.

OPRA requests will not be processed on weekends, holidays, and when the College is closed.
If an official request is denied or unfilled within seven (7) business days, or not made available by the alternative date provided by the Records Custodian, the requestor has the right to appeal a denial of, or failure to provide, requested information by filing a complaint with the Government Records Council, or, in Superior Court.

Government Records Council (GRC), New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
U.S. Mail: P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ 08625
Website: http://www.state.nj.us/grc/
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 1-866-850-0511
Fax: 1-609-633-6337