Agency public-records confidentiality election

When to use this template

Use this form to tell your employing agency that you elect to keep your home address, personal phone, personal email, and other private contact info out of any public-records response. It's the agency-side layer of address protection. It binds your agency, not data brokers — those are a separate problem.

File it on day one if you're new. File it again any time you move. File it for retirees in states that allow continuing election after separation. If your agency already has a standing form, use theirs — but if they don't, this template covers the standard fields.

For the broker-side fight, see the opt-out request letter and, if you're an NJ-covered person, the Daniel's Law demand letter. (Daniel's Law is the NJ statute that lets covered officers, judges, and prosecutors sue brokers that fail to remove their home address.)

Which state statutes this maps to

The election ties to whichever public-records statute applies to your agency. The form references the most common ones:

• Florida — §119.071, exempting home addresses and identifying info for active and retired LE, firefighters, and certain other personnel from public records. See the Marsy's Law guide for adjacent victim-side protections and the Florida state guide.
• New Jersey — §39:2-3.4 and the broader Daniel's Law framework. See the Daniel's Law guide and New Jersey.
• California — Vehicle Code §1808.4 (the CA "ACP-adjacent" record-suppression provision for sworn personnel) plus the Address Confidentiality Program. See California.
• Texas — Government Code §552.117 and the Texas ACP. See Texas.
• New York — Civil Rights Law §50-a-adjacent and home-address exemption provisions. See the 50-a guide and New York.

For other states, the form has a generic "applicable state public-records exemption" line and a notes field. Check your state guide in the states library for the specific citation that applies in your jurisdiction.

Who files it

Most states allow:

• Active sworn personnel — police, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, corrections officers, probation, parole.
• Firefighters and EMS, where the state's exemption extends to first responders broadly.
• Judges, prosecutors, and certain court personnel — varies by state.
• Retired personnel — many states extend the protection after separation, some require a re-election after retirement.
• Family members in some jurisdictions, with NJ being the broadest.

If you're not sure whether your role qualifies, ask your agency's records or legal liaison before filing.

What it actually does

This is the part most people get wrong. Be honest with yourself about what the election does and doesn't do.

What it does: It binds your agency. When someone files a public-records request for your personnel file, your home address, your personal phone, your emergency contact info — the agency's records officer pulls those fields and refuses to disclose them, citing the statute you elected under. Same for media FOIA requests, civil discovery, or random walk-in requesters.

What it doesn't do: It doesn't reach data brokers. Brokers don't pull from your personnel file — they pull from voter rolls, property records, court filings, vehicle registrations, marketing databases, and consumer credit headers. Those sources are governed by different statutes, different opt-out paths, or no opt-out path at all.

The agency election plus the broker opt-outs are layered. Each one alone is incomplete. If you've filed the agency election but skipped the broker side, your address still sits on Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, and a couple hundred other broker sites. Run a free scan to see what's still exposed. If your address is already in the wild — posted to social media or a forum — work the doxxed-right-now playbook for the time-bucketed response while you file this election.

How often to refresh

Two rules of thumb:

• Refresh whenever you move. The election is tied to the address you list. A new address means a new filing, or your old address sits in the agency record uncovered.
• Refresh every two to three years even if nothing's changed. Personnel systems get migrated, records officers turn over, and old elections occasionally drop off the file. A fresh election clears the doubt.

Some agencies have a self-service portal that lets you re-elect without paperwork. Use it if you have it. If not, the form goes to your records officer or HR.

What about records the agency already released

Honest answer: the election is forward-looking. It doesn't recall records the agency already released before you filed.

If your address went out in a prior FOIA response, that record is in the wild. The fix is the broker side — opt-outs, takedown demands, and (if you're covered) statutory letters. The agency election stops the bleeding. The broker work cleans up what already leaked.

For the full picture of how records-request responses turn into broker listings, see the Florida state guide — it's the most active enforcement environment and the patterns generalize.

The election form

If your agency already has a standing form for this election, use theirs — but if they don't, this template covers the standard fields. Copy into a word processor, fill in your specifics, pick the statute that matches your jurisdiction, print, sign, and submit to your records or HR officer. Keep a stamped/dated copy for your file.

[YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME]
[BADGE / EMPLOYEE / IDENTIFICATION NUMBER]
[YOUR CURRENT AGENCY ASSIGNMENT / UNIT]
[DATE]

To: [AGENCY RECORDS CUSTODIAN OR HR OFFICER, BY NAME IF KNOWN]
[AGENCY NAME]
[AGENCY ADDRESS]

Re: Election to keep personal contact information confidential under
applicable public-records exemption

I, [YOUR FULL LEGAL NAME], am employed by [AGENCY NAME] as a [POSITION
TITLE — e.g., police officer, sheriff's deputy, firefighter, paramedic,
corrections officer, prosecutor, judge]. Pursuant to the public-records
exemption applicable to my position, I hereby elect that the following
personal information be withheld from any public-records response,
FOIA or sunshine-law response, civil discovery, or other disclosure of
my personnel record:

  - Home address (current and prior)
  - Personal telephone number(s)
  - Personal email address
  - Names and identifying information of spouse, domestic partner,
    parents, and minor children
  - Emergency contact information
  - Photographs (other than those required for official identification)

[CHOOSE THE STATUTE THAT APPLIES — DELETE THE REST]

  - Florida: Fla. Stat. §119.071(4)(d).
  - New Jersey: Daniel's Law, N.J.S.A. §47:1B-1 et seq., and
    N.J.S.A. §39:2-3.4.
  - California: Cal. Veh. Code §1808.4 (record-suppression for sworn
    personnel) and the CA Address Confidentiality Program where
    enrolled.
  - Texas: Tex. Gov't Code §552.117.
  - New York: N.Y. Pub. Off. Law §89(7) and analogous home-address
    exemption provisions.
  - [OTHER STATE]: [CITATION TO YOUR STATE'S APPLICABLE
    PUBLIC-RECORDS CONFIDENTIALITY STATUTE].

This election applies to all records held by the agency, including
those maintained by the records custodian, payroll, HR, training, and
any contracted vendors processing personnel data on the agency's
behalf.

I understand:

  - This election is forward-looking and does not recall records
    previously released.
  - I will refile this election upon any change of address, change of
    legal name, or change in my position with the agency.
  - I may be required to renew this election periodically per the
    agency's records-retention schedule.

I request written acknowledgment of this election to the address or
email below, including the date the election was filed in my personnel
record.

Sincerely,



[SIGNATURE]
[PRINTED FULL NAME]
[CONTACT EMAIL OR INTERNAL ROUTING]
[DATE]

----------------------------------------
For agency use only

Received by: ______________________________
Title:       ______________________________
Date:        ______________________________
Filed in personnel record on: _____________

Filing this election binds your agency, not data brokers. The broker side is the opt-out request letter and, if you're NJ-covered, the Daniel's Law demand. Run a free scan to see what's still exposed across the broker stack while this election handles the agency side.