Wyoming's Act begins at W.S. 16-4-201, and the operative rule in section 16-4-202 is that all public records are open for inspection by any person at reasonable times during the business hours of the governmental entity, except as the Act or other law provides. An entity may make rules about inspection that are reasonably necessary to protect the records and to prevent unnecessary interference with the regular discharge of its duties, but those rules govern the manner of access rather than the right.
One procedural point decides where a request goes: all applications for public records must be made to the designated public records person, an official every governmental entity identifies for the purpose. The Act also creates a state level referee, requiring the governor to designate an ombudsman who receives complaints, mediates disputes between an entity and an applicant at the request of either side, keeps confidential any records an entity submits, and provides uniform interpretation and training on the ombudsman's role to both government and the public. For Wyoming records held locally, see the Wyoming county pages.
- Seven business days for news: the entity must say within that time if it does not hold the records, or if they are in active use or storage.
- Immediately if readily available: a record to hand must be released at once unless that would impair the entity's other duties.
- Thirty calendar days at the outside: all records must be released by then unless good cause prevents it and a later date is mutually agreed.
- An ombudsman who can waive fees: the governor's records ombudsman mediates, sets timelines for release, and can cancel the charges an entity has imposed.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Wyoming's own systems: the Wyoming Public Records Act, W.S. 16-4-201 to 16-4-205, Article 2, public records, in the Wyoming statutes, the Governor's public records ombudsman, the Wyoming State Archives on making a public records request, each read on October 15, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Seven business days, and what they are for
The seven business day duty in Wyoming is about information rather than production, and it runs from the date of acknowledged receipt of the request. Two situations trigger it. Where the records requested are not in the custody or control of the entity the application went to, the designated public records person must notify the applicant within seven business days that the records are unavailable there, and must provide the name and contact information of the appropriate designated public records person where that is known.
Where the records are held by the entity but are in active use or in storage and therefore not available when the applicant asks to examine them, the designated public records person must immediately forward the request to the custodian or authorised person who has personal custody and control, and must notify the applicant of that situation within the same seven business days. Either way, a Wyoming requester should know inside a week whether they are in the right place and who is actually handling the file.
Immediately, or thirty calendar days
Production runs on two further rules. A record that is readily available must be released immediately to the applicant, so long as the release does not impair or impede the entity's ability to discharge its other duties. Everything else must be released not later than thirty calendar days from the date of acknowledged receipt, unless good cause exists preventing release. Where good cause does exist, the statute does not let the entity simply take longer: the records must be released on a specified date mutually agreed between the applicant and the entity, and where a release date cannot be agreed the applicant may file a complaint with the ombudsman.
That structure makes the agreed date the operative deadline in any complicated request, and makes a refusal to agree one the trigger for outside review rather than a reason to wait.
Testing good cause, in camera
An applicant may at any time file a complaint with the ombudsman the governor designates, or petition the district court, for a determination as to whether the custodian has demonstrated good cause. In deciding that, the ombudsman or the court may consider whether the records are privileged or confidential by law, and whether release would impair or impede the entity's ability to discharge its other duties. The statute then requires something many states leave to discretion: the ombudsman or the district court shall review the records in camera and determine whether redaction of privileged or confidential information would permit release.
So the question is not only whether the entity had a reason to delay, but whether a redacted version could have gone out instead.
What a refusal and an enforcement action look like
Where a custodian denies access to a public record, the applicant may request a written statement of the grounds for the denial, which must cite the law or regulation under which access is denied and must be furnished to the applicant. Enforcement is available to a person aggrieved by a failure to release records on the mutually agreed date, or by a failure to comply with an ombudsman order. Two routes are offered. The first is an application to the district court for the district where the record is found, for an order directing the custodian to show cause why inspection should not be permitted and compelling production, and an order issued under that paragraph may waive any fees charged by a state governmental entity.
The second is a complaint to the ombudsman, who may mediate the dispute, prescribe timelines for release of the records, and waive any fees charged by the governmental entity. A free mediator with power over both the timetable and the bill is an unusual combination, and it is the reason most Wyoming disputes should start there.
Electronic records, and who pays for them
Where a public record exists primarily or solely in electronic format, the custodian must tell the requester so. The reasonable costs of producing a copy are borne by the requester, and those costs may include the cost of producing the copy and the cost of constructing the record, including programming and computer services, which makes an electronic extraction potentially more expensive than a paper copy rather than less. Two rules balance that.
A governmental entity must provide an electronic record in alternative electronic file types if asked, unless doing so is impractical or impossible. And no entity is required to compile data, extract data or create a new document to comply with an electronic record request, which marks the line between asking for a record and asking for an analysis.
Fees, and the one charge that is never allowed
Under W.S. 16-4-204 the official custodian may set a reasonable fee for copies, printouts or photographs, and where specific fees for certified or other copies are prescribed by law, those specific fees apply instead. The custodian may also establish a reasonable schedule of times for making copies. One sentence protects the core of the right: nothing in the section authorises a fee to be charged as a condition of making a public record available for inspection, so looking at records in Wyoming is free whatever the copying costs.
Where a custodian believes that disclosure of a record would do substantial injury to the public interest, even though the record would otherwise be open, the route is not a unilateral refusal but an application to the district court for an order restricting disclosure, and the person seeking the record must be served with notice of the hearing and has the right to appear and be heard.
Questions about public records requests in Wyoming
Related Wyoming records
Wyoming's other public records guides on this site are the Wyoming background check guide for the Division of Criminal Investigation, the Wyoming court records guide for the judicial branch records service, the Wyoming arrest records guide for what a booking makes public, and the Wyoming county pages for every county office.