Public Records
The City Clerk's Office records official actions and legislation of the municipal government and retains other legal and historical records. The City Clerk manages the official record center for all City Commission agenda packets, ordinances, resolutions, recorded documents, Commission meeting minutes, contracts and other documents adopted by the City Commission.
The City Clerk's Office is happy to assist you with a records request related to City administration or City governance. For example, public records related to City Commission action/legislation or documents such as agreements/contracts. The Municipal Court, City Attorney [police reports/accident reports], and Great Falls Fire Rescue have their own established processes and fees for records requests. Please refer to the links below to request records from those departments.
If the record you request is not maintained by the City of Great Falls, you will need to contact the entity where the record is filed. PLEASE READ: Records NOT under the jurisdiction or control of the City Clerk’s Office include:
- Personal Property Records [Cascade County Clerk and Recorder]
- Comprehensive Background Checks [Montana Department of Justice]
- Driving Record History [Montana Department of Motor Vehicle]
- Marriage or Divorce Records [Cascade County Clerk of District Court]
- Birth or Death Records [Cascade County Clerk and Recorder]
- Driver License, Renewals & ID Cards [Montana Department of Motor Vehicle]
- Vehicle Titles or License Plates [Cascade County Motor Vehicle Department]
- Fire Incident/Investigation Reports [Great Falls Fire Rescue]
- Municipal Court Records - Misdemeanor Cases [Great Falls Municipal Court]
- Justice Court Records - Cascade County Misdemeanor Cases [Cascade County Justice Court}
- Police Reports/Accident Reports - City of Great Falls Misdemeanor Cases [Great Falls City Attorney's Office]
- Felony Court Records [Cascade County District Court]
- Federal Court Records [U.S. District Court]
Procedures and fees associated with public records requests the City Clerk’s Office can assist you with were adopted by the City Commission. See Resolution 10141.
The City utilizes JustFOIA records request tracking solution that handles the entire life cycle of the open records request process. To submit a public records request for Great Falls Municipal Government related records, complete and submit the Public Records Request Form. Please describe the SPECIFIC records you are requesting and any additional information that will help to locate said records (dates, names, legal description of property, etc.). Any request which does not refer to an "identifiable" public record shall not be processed until the requester provides further information. If there is not enough information to process the request, the request may be delayed or denied for vagueness. In most instances, a record will be provided in the form it exists, allowing the requester to inspect the record(s) and compile data in their own format. The City is not required to alter or customize public information to provide it in a form specified to meet the needs of the requesting person.
After completing and submitting the request, you will receive an email from JustFOIA containing a “request number” and “security key.” Thereafter, you will need the request number and security key to log in to the Public Records Request Tracking Portal to correspond, check the status, download responsive documents, or make payments.
