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HomeGovernment CodeDiv. 3Pt. 2Ch. 3Art. 7§ 12271 Public Records Definitions

§ 12271 Public Records Definitions

Government Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 12271 Public Records Definitions

Key Takeaways

  • •This law defines special words used in other rules about public records.
  • •A 'public record' is any paper or file the government makes or uses for work, but not library books or museum stuff.
  • •If something has 'archival value,' it’s important enough to keep forever because it has useful info.
  • •A 'public use form' is any form the government uses to ask people for information.

Example

If the government has old papers showing how a town was built 100 years ago, those papers might have 'archival value' because they’re important for history.

This means the government should keep those old papers safe and not throw them away.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 12271 Public Records Definitions

For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) “Acquire” includes acquisition by gift, purchase, lease, eminent domain, or otherwise. (b) “Archival value” means the ongoing usefulness or significance of a record based on the administrative, legal, fiscal, evidential, or historical information it contains, justifying its permanent preservation. (c) “Public record plant” means the plant, or any part thereof, or a record therein, of a person engaged in the business of searching or publishing public records or insuring or guaranteeing titles to real property, including copies of public records or abstracts and memoranda taken from public records that are owned by or in possession of that person or that are used by that person in that person’s business. (d) “Public use form” means a form used by the state to obtain or to solicit facts, opinions, or other information from the public or a private citizen, partnership, corporation, organization, business trust, or nongovernmental entity or legal representative thereof. (e) “Record” has the same meaning as “public records” as defined in Section 7920.530 and includes, but is not limited to, a writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by a state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. Library and museum materials made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included within the definition of the term “record” as used in this article. (Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 28, Sec. 66. (SB 1380) Effective January 1, 2023.)

Last verified: January 22, 2026

Key Terms

AcquireArchival

Related Statutes

  • § 12270 State Records Management Act
  • § 12272 Secretary Of State Records Program
  • § 12273 At-Risk Records Transfer
  • § 12274 Agency Records Management Program
  • § 12274.5 Records Management Coordinator Duties

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Government Code. Section 12271.
View Official Source