Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a government website?
No. Texas Transparency Hub is an independent, volunteer-run project. We are not affiliated with any government agency.
Is this legal?
Yes. The Texas Public Information Act (Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code) gives anyone the right to request government records. Publishing lawfully obtained public records is generally permitted.
Will you post personal information?
No. We respect all redactions made by agencies. We avoid republishing sensitive personal information (such as home addresses, phone numbers, or Social Security numbers), even if an agency inadvertently released it.
Can I submit a request through your site?
Not yet. For now, you must submit requests directly to agencies yourself. The Texas Public Information Act requires requests to go to the specific agency holding the records. We're building tools to make this easier, but there's no form or automation yet.
How do you verify documents are authentic?
Every request in our archive includes source information: the agency it was sent to, the date submitted, and the date acknowledged or fulfilled (when applicable). We do not alter documents or responses.
Why is this taking so long to launch?
We're building a robust pipeline to handle attachments, metadata, and search. Doing this right takes time, and we're doing it carefully.
Can I contribute or help?
Yes. Technical contributors are welcome to help with the codebase. We don't have a web form yet, but you can reach out to discuss contributing requests or development work.
Which counties or agencies will you cover first?
We're starting small with a few pilot counties and state agencies. Once the archive is stable, we'll expand coverage.
How often will you update the archive?
We'll update the archive as we receive responses to requests and as new requests are submitted. There's no fixed schedule, but we aim to keep the archive current.
What file formats do you support?
We'll publish documents in the formats agencies provide them—typically PDF, but also Word documents, spreadsheets, images, and other common formats. All files will be available for download.
Can I download bulk data?
We're planning to offer bulk data access in the future, but this feature won't be available at launch. Initially, documents will be downloadable one at a time from individual request pages.