Henrico County Public Records and Virginia FOIA
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act guarantees citizens and the media access to public records held by public bodies. Henrico's official FOIA page states that records are presumed open and that exemptions are read narrowly. A public record is any writing or recording, in any form, that a public body prepares, owns, or holds in the course of public business.
FOIA covers existing records, not general questions.
The county FOIA overview is the starting point.
The Henrico FOIA overview page explains Virginia FOIA rights and links to the county's online data sources.
The full FOIA framework is in Va. Code § 2.2-3700 et seq.
Who Holds Which Henrico Record
Sending a request to the wrong office is the most common reason a request stalls. Court records, jail records, police reports, and prosecutor files all sit with different offices. The table below maps the main records to the office that keeps them.
| Office | Records It Holds |
|---|---|
| Circuit Court Clerk | Circuit civil and criminal files, divorce, probate, land records, judgments, wills, marriage licenses |
| General District Court Clerk | Traffic, misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, small claims, garnishments, landlord-tenant |
| J&DR Court Clerk | Juvenile and family cases, often confidential |
| Sheriff's Office | Jail custody, inmate location, civil process |
| Police Division | Police reports, incident and accident records, investigative files |
| Commonwealth's Attorney | Prosecution office records, not police records |
For court files specifically, start with the Henrico County court records page.
How to File a Public Records Request
Henrico makes requests easy to submit. A request can be made by mail, fax, email, in person, or over the phone, and it does not have to cite FOIA. It must identify the records with reasonable specificity and must seek records that already exist. A written request still helps create a clear record of what you asked for.
The county guidelines explain how to frame a request.
The Henrico FOIA general guidelines cover request methods, reasonable specificity, and the existing-record limit.
- Identify which office holds the record you want.
- Describe the records with reasonable specificity, including a time period.
- Send the request by mail, fax, email, in person, or phone.
- Ask for a cost estimate in advance if you are concerned about charges.
- Watch for the county's response within five working days.
Response Times and What You Get
Henrico says it responds within five working days after receiving a request. Day One is the day after receipt, and weekends and holidays do not count. The county may provide the records, withhold them under a specific exemption and cite it, release records with exempt parts redacted, state that records do not exist, or invoke additional time when the law allows.
You can choose an electronic format the county already uses.
The services page sets out the response process.
The Henrico FOIA services page explains the five-working-day response and the request categories.
If you believe your FOIA rights were violated, you can petition the district or circuit court.
What to Include in a Request
A clear request is faster to fill. While Henrico does not require a special form, including the right details helps the office find the records and give you an estimate. The checklist below covers what to put in a request.
| What to Include | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Records sought | Yes | Describe with reasonable specificity. |
| Time period | Helpful | A date range narrows the search. |
| Your contact info | Yes | For follow-up and a cost estimate. |
| Format preference | Optional | Electronic or paper. |
| Cost estimate request | Optional | Ask for an estimate in advance. |
The county may contact you for clarification if a request is unclear.
Clerk Copy Fees and FOIA Charges
Fees fall into two buckets. Court copy fees at the Clerk are set per page, while FOIA charges reflect the actual cost of finding and copying records. You can ask for an estimate before the work begins.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Plain copy per page (Clerk) | $0.50 |
| FOIA records | Actual cost; estimate available on request |
| Police records deposit | May be required if charges are likely to exceed $200 |
The Circuit Court Clerk page lists the court copy and certified-copy fees in more detail.
Police Records and the Police Division
Police reports are held by the Henrico Police Division, not the courts or the prosecutor. Criminal records requests may go through the Police Division's Records Management Section and its FOIA team, by phone, mail, email, or in person. The division may require a deposit when charges are likely to exceed $200.
Investigative and accident records carry their own rules.
Some police records are exempt or redacted under FOIA, especially active criminal-investigative files. The Henrico County arrest records page explains how police, court, and prosecutor records differ.
Prosecutor Records Are Separate
People often ask the Commonwealth's Attorney for police reports, but that is the wrong office. The Commonwealth's Attorney is not the custodian of Henrico Police records, police investigations, accident reports, or police personnel files. The office can respond to FOIA requests for its own prosecution-office records, subject to exemptions.
So a police-report request belongs with the Police Division, not the prosecutor.
Note: Send police-report requests to the Police Division; the Commonwealth's Attorney does not hold police records and cannot release them.
Confidential Records and Redactions
Some records are closed even under an open-records system. Juvenile court files, juvenile law-enforcement records, adoption files, sealed and expunged records, and certain mental-health materials are restricted. Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and protected victim information are redacted from public files.
Exemptions exist to protect privacy and active cases, not to hide ordinary records. When an exemption applies, the county cites it, and the rest of the record may still be released with the exempt parts removed.
If part of a record is exempt, ask whether the rest can be released. A common outcome is a redacted document rather than a full denial, which still gives you most of the information. When a denial cites an exemption, the citation tells you which law applies, and you can decide whether to challenge it through the court process FOIA provides.
Online Data Portals and Their Limits
Several state systems offer online access, but they are not all free public search tools. Secure Remote Access for land records is subscription-only. OCRA, for attorneys, costs money and is not general public access. Virginia Date of Birth Confirmation is gated to organizations with a state corporation ID. The e-filing system is for bar members, not record searches.
Knowing the limits avoids confusion.
For free public case status, use the Virginia case systems described on the court records page, and for land records, contact the Circuit Court Clerk. The county also links open-data sources from its FOIA page, which can answer some questions without a formal request at all.