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Part of Access to Information Act (ATIA)

Access to information requests

Decide if filing an access to information (ATI) request to a public body is your best option and how to make one when you are ready.

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Access to Information Act (ATIA)

Overview

The Access to Information Act (ATIA) provides access to records held by public bodies in Alberta. Individuals can also submit an ATI request to access their own personal information.

Public bodies under the ATIA include:

Local public bodies administer their own records under the guidance of the ATIA. Some of these include:

  • municipalities
  • post-secondary educational institutions
  • police services and commissions
  • housing management bodies
  • school boards
  • regional health authorities, but health information has additional restrictions under the Health Information Act

Before submitting an ATI request

Do research and determine if you need to make an ATI request.

  • Search publicly available government records at Transparency Alberta.
  • Find more government records, data and publications through Alberta’s Open Government Program.
  • Request from program areas or search public body websites.

If the information you want is not publicly available, you can make an ATI request. See the ATIA service fee estimates.

Use the Find an Access to Information Coordinator directory to ask for advice on the most appropriate method of obtaining access to the information you need or help you produce a description of the records for your request.

See the commonly requested records below for how to access those records.

Commonly requested records

  • Adoption, children and family records

    If an individual was ever in the custody of Alberta Children and Family Services, they may connect with Records, Registry and Connections to request their adoption records.

    All other requests related to Children and Family Services can be made through an access request via the online request service. 

  • Court transcripts

    Courtroom transcripts can be requested online independent of an access request.

    For other court documents, you may also be able to contact or visit an Alberta Courthouse directly and request a copy of an order/legal documents without needing to go through an access request.

  • Criminal record checks

    Criminal record checks can be requested at your local law enforcement agency and do not require an access request.

  • Death records/certificates of death

    For death records that may be in the custody of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), consider contacting them directly before submitting an access request:

    The OCME also has a page where those can be requested if the records were related to an investigation.

    Copies of death registrations and medical certificates that are over 50 years old or older (counted from the date of death) must be requested from the Provincial Archives of Alberta, as they qualify as historical records. 

  • High school transcripts

    Consider contacting Alberta Education or Alberta Careers, Learning and Employment Information for additional supports independent of an access request.

Submit a request

Submit your request directly to the public body that has the records you are seeking.

Requests must be made in writing. Some public bodies provide an online service to make an access request. Public bodies will have 30 business days to respond to an access request and the timeline for response may be extended in certain circumstances.

If you are requesting access to your own personal information, no fee is required. However, if you are requesting access to records that are not your own personal information an initial application fee of $25 is required.

  • ATI requests to the Government of Alberta

    Most access requests to the Government of Alberta can be made through the online request service with a basic or verified Alberta.ca Account. Anyone within Canada may set up an account.

    Separate access request forms are required for:

  • ATI requests to other public bodies

    Directly contact the public body who has the records you are seeking.

    Questions about requesting records held by public bodies other than the Government of Alberta must be directed to the Access to Information Coordinator of that public body. 

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