The Multnomah County Communications Office is moving to a new public records request portal. Beginning today, March 17, all public records requests that journalists formerly sent to pressoffice@multco.us must instead be submitted through the Multnomah County Records Center.
What is happening?
Multnomah County is committed to being an open and transparent government. Oregon’s public records law helps ensure the County’s public records are retained and that requests for those records receive responses in a timely and consistent manner. These kinds of laws are essential to our democracy, and Oregon law provides clear guidance for how governments like Multnomah County should handle public records.
To more efficiently comply with the requirements of the law, the County prioritized procuring a universal public records request management system for all departments. After budgeting for its purchase in FY 2024, the County is actively launching the new system, called GovQA.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Elections Division are already online. All Multnomah County offices and departments will shift to this platform by the end of 2025.
If you do not see the department related to your public records request listed in GovQA, please go to Public Records Requests and either email or mail your request to the appropriate department.
What will change for reporters?
People requesting records are required to create a user account, but the system offers a more user-friendly experience with more consistency and time tracking, while supporting the County’s accountability and transparency goals.
What will not change?
The Communications Office, through the pressoffice@multco.us, will continue to respond to information requests from reporters that are not records requests and answer any questions that may come up when using the portal.
To learn more about creating a GovQA account and submitting a records request, please visit the FAQ page.