Publish prior releases and write your portal FAQ

Last updated: August 21, 2026

The cheapest request to handle is one that never gets filed. Two features on the portal do that work: a catalog of what you have already released, and an FAQ answering what people ask before they file.

How to offer the public records catalog

  1. Go to Settings, then Channels, then Citizen Portal.
  2. Find Public records catalog.
  3. Switch on Offer the public records catalog on the citizen portal.

Turning it on offers the page. It does not publish anything. Each release is opted in individually from Document Workspace, then Published Cases, so nothing becomes public because a toggle was flipped.

That separation is deliberate. Jurisdictions differ on what may be proactively disclosed, so the decision is made case by case rather than inferred from a release.

Choosing what to publish

Start with the records you release repeatedly. Budget documents, meeting minutes, salary schedules, inspection reports, policy documents. Anything you have released more than twice is a candidate.

Publishing one of those converts a recurring request into a download. The requester gets the record immediately, and no deadline starts.

How to write your FAQ

  1. On the same Citizen Portal screen, find FAQ.
  2. Click Add and write a question and its answer.
  3. Repeat for each.

The FAQ appears on the public portal. It is empty until you write it, and an empty FAQ page is worse than none, so either write it or leave the section unpopulated.

Write the questions you actually receive

Do not invent an FAQ. Take the last thirty requests and the correspondence attached to them, and write down what people asked in the words they used.

The recurring ones are almost always the same everywhere:

  • How long will this take
  • Do I have to say why I want it
  • Will you charge me
  • Can I file anonymously
  • What happens if you refuse
  • How do I get the records once they are ready

Answer them plainly. An answer that quotes the statute without explaining it sends the person to the phone.

What this is worth

Where the intake form shows someone an existing record before they file, and they take it instead of filing, that is counted on the Requests avoided card on your dashboard.

Treat that number as the return on this work. It is the only place in the product where effort spent up front shows up as work that never arrived.