Submit a Pennsylvania Game Commission Right to Know Request

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) adopts this policy pursuant to Section 504(a) of the Right-to-Know Law, 65 §§ P.S. 67.101-67.3104 (RTKL). 

The PGC designated an Open Records Officer to Respond to RTKL requests.

Requests for records under the RTKL must be made on the Office of Open Records (OOR) Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form. A PDF copy can be found here. The PGC will not act upon requests for records outside the OOR’s Standard Form.

Completed copies of the Standard Right-to-Know Law Request Form may be submitted to the PGC’s Open Records Officer via email, mail, facsimile, or in person, using the contact information set forth above.

To allow the PGC to identify and locate potentially responsive records, requests for records must be specific and fully describe the records sought. Requesters should retain a copy of the request for their files, as a copy of the request may be necessary should a requester appeal the PGC’s response.

Requests for PGC records should be addressed to the PGC’s Open Records Officer. If a request is addressed to another agency’s Open Records Officer, the request may be considered misdirected and improperly filed with the PGC.

The PGC may respond, in its discretion, to informal written requests (e.g., a request which does not indicate that it is seeking records under the RTKL, rather general information). However, such requests may not be addressed regularly and will not be processed as a request submitted under the RTKL.

The PGC may, in its discretion, respond to verbal and anonymous requests for records as timely as possible. However, requesters submitting verbal and anonymous requests for records may not pursue the remedies available to a requester under the RTKL. See, 65 P.S. § 67.702.

The PGC’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm (excluding Commonwealth holidays). The date when PGC’s Open Records Officer receives a request is noted. If a request is received outside the hours of operation as set forth above, it will be considered received the next business day. 

The PGC has five (5) business days to respond to a request for records under the RTKL. The PGC is permitted an additional thirty (30) days to respond to any request for the reasons set forth in Section 902 of the RTKL. See, 65 P.S. § 67.902. If the PGC invokes an extension, the PGC will inform the requester in writing as required by the RTKL.

The requester may agree, in writing, to extend the Open Records Officer’s response period. The requester must agree to the extension during the initial five business day response period or during an extension invoked by the Open Records Officer.

The PGC may grant a request in its entirety, partially grant and partially deny a request, or deny a request in its entirety. The final response of the PGC will be in writing. Should the PGC fail to issue a response within the applicable response period, the request is deemed denied. 

The PGC may grant a request for records by: (1) granting access to inspect PGC records during the PGC’s regular business hours; (2) sending copies of responsive records to the requester; and/or, (3) notifying requester that the record is available on the PGC’s website or another publicly accessible website. 

Should the PGC deny or partially deny a request for records through redaction or otherwise, the PGC will inform the requester of the denial or partial denial in writing. It will further advise the requester that either the PGC does not possess the responsive record or, if the information is exempt from public access, provide a citation to the relevant legal basis for withholding the requested information.

The PGC will charge fees consistent with the OOR Fee Schedule.

For more information on how to challenge the denial or deemed denial of a request for PGC records click here.

Additional information regarding the RTKL, you may visit the OOR website at https://www.openrecords.pa.gov. If you require further assistance, call 717-346-9903.