FAQs

The City of Portland believes the public has the right to know of the activities of the City. In this spirit, many public documents can be found here on our website. 

Read our Residents Guide to FOAA Requests.

Please Note: 

If you are looking for public records that are within the City Clerk's control, such as vital records (birth, death, marriage certificates) and records related to City Council proceedings, please email the City Clerk's Office directly at cityclerk@portlandmaine.gov. City Council meeting agendas, packets, and minutes, can be found in our Agenda Portal. 

If you are looking for Permitting & Inspections records, such as building permits, building code violations, inspections records, certificate of occupancies, etc, please search our Citizen Self Service portal before you submit a FOAA request. 

Once in the CSS, click "search public records" and type in the address you are looking for. For records from 2000 to 2018, click here to search. To navigate the site, you will need to know the ChartBlockLot number of the property. This can be found on either the Assessor Property Search Site or through the Parcel Viewer Map. Once you have the CBL, click the link with your corresponding Chart Number(first three numbers of the CBL) then the link of the entire CBL number. Records prior to 2000 are stored on microfiche in the Permitting & Inspections Office in City Hall. 

The City of Portland's FOAA Officer is Jessica Grondin, Director of Communications & Digital Services. You can email her at jgrondin@portlandmaine.gov.