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Office of Mental Health

Request Office of Mental Health (OMH) Records Through The New York State Freedom of Information Law

Overview

The Freedom of Information Law (“FOIL”), Article 6 (Sections 84-90) of the NYS Public Officers Law, provides the public right to access to records maintained by government agencies with certain exceptions. 

“Record” means any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with, or for this agency, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or disks, rules, regulations or codes.

Learn more about records access and Open FOIL NY

If you would like YOUR records from this agency, you may not have to file a FOIL request. Learn more about Requesting Medical Records.

Request Records

Use the Open FOIL NY online form:


Mail a written request to:

Records Access Officer
New York State Office of Mental Health
44 Holland Avenue
Albany, New York 12229

E-mail a written request to: recordsaccessofficer@omh.ny.gov

Fax a written request to: (518) 473-7863

Submit a request for records in person:

Our offices are located at 44 Holland Avenue, Albany NY 12229. Upon entering the main entrance door, inform the front desk that you would like to provide a written request for records to the Records Access Office. Staff will contact the Records Access Office, and a staff member will provide assistance. Please be advised records require review prior to disclosure. As a result, documents and records will not be immediately available.

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Clinical Records

You cannot access clinical records/information about an individual’s care and treatment through a FOIL request. Under FOIL, personally identifying information, as well as other information deemed confidential and protected from disclosure under such statutes as Article 33 of the Mental Hygiene Law, cannot be released in response to a FOIL request.

Requests for clinical records must be made in writing. You can submit your request for records from an OMH facilities to centralfiles@omh.ny.gov. Requests for clinical records of treatment at non-OMH facilities should be directed to that facility.

FOIL Process

Within five business days of the receipt of a written request for a record reasonably described, we will send you a letter either: making such record available; denying such request in writing; or furnishing a written acknowledgment of the receipt of such request. If you have not received a letter within five business days, please contact us at (518) 474-1331 or recordsaccessofficer@omh.ny.gov.

An acknowledgment letter will provide you with an estimate of when the records you request will be available, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request. This date is determined by the number of documents you request, their format, their availability, the time it takes to redact any information that cannot be disclosed pursuant to FOIL, the time it takes to assemble the documents, and other factors.

If the records you request require a fee to be paid, you will be notified prior to the records being released to you. Unless a different fee is otherwise prescribed by statute, Public Officers Law §87(1) authorizes an agency to charge a fee of 25¢ per copy for copies of records up 9”x 14”, or the actual cost of reproducing a record. In determining the actual cost of producing a record, an agency may include only:

Once the requested records are prepared, you may receive the records via email, fax, paper, CD/DVD, or USB. Records are available for inspection, by appointment, on business days between 9am and 5pm at the Records Access Office, 44 Holland Avenue, Albany NY 12229. You may schedule an appointment for in-person inspection of records by calling (518) 474-1331.

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Right to Appeal

Under provisions of the Public Officers Law you may appeal a FOIL determination. If you desire to submit such an appeal, you must do so within 30 days of the written response to your FOIL request. Please include a copy of the original request for records and a copy of the FOIL response letter you received along with your appeal letter to:

Records Appeal Officer
Counsel’s Office
NYS Office of Mental Health
44 Holland Avenue
Albany, NY 12229

You will be informed in writing of the decision within ten business days of our receipt of such an appeal. Please indicate the FOIL Request Number when corresponding on this subject.

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Subject Matter List

The following is a current list of records, by subject matter, that are maintained by this agency. Some of the listed records may be exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Freedom of Information Law.

OMH Subject Matter List

Agency FOIL Regulations

14 NYCRR 510

Helpful Tips

For more information about FOIL, please visit the New York State Committee on Open Government’s website.

When submitting a FOIL request:

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