The City of Manchester believes that a key tenet in a democratic society is the openness in the conduct of public business by ensuring both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussions and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.  The public has the right to inspect, during regular business hours and at the appropriate department location, all public governmental records and request copies except those records that are temporarily unavailable or are specifically exempted by law.  It is recommended that you read the Access to Governmental Records – Policy and Procedures Guide in its entirety before requesting access to records so that you know exactly what to expect and what will be expected of you during your visit.

Written requests for governmental records, which reference right-to-know or NH RSA 91-A, received by the City of Manchester are to be administered through the Office of the City Clerk in coordination with the City Solicitor and appropriate department(s).  To request access to records, fill out the Access to Governmental Records Form and submit the form to the department that has custody of the record or to the Office of the City Clerk.  The City Clerk will then direct your request to the appropriate department(s).

Public records are available to view at no charge to the requestor.  Should you want copies of governmental records however, the policy for copy fees in the City of Manchester, adopted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, is $1.00 for the first copy and $.50 for each additional copy, whether in electronic form or paper form.  The City of Manchester also charges the actual cost of postage and required envelope(s) for any postal mailings associated with record requests and the actual cost of electronic media storage (i.e. DVD, CD-ROMs, thumb drives, memory sticks, etc.), if available.  Only City provided electronic media storage devices will be used to make electronic copies of records.