Wilson, NC

Public Records Request

The City of Wilson accepts public records requests online.  The automated system contacts a staff member in one of the departments as soon as an online form is completed and provides a confirmation email to the submitter.

Prior to completing an online form through our public records request portal, please review the following information pertaining to public records.

Public Records Available

• Development Services: Building permits, certificates of occupancy, building code violations, zoning code violations, property variances, conditional and special use permits, ordinances, site plans, environmental releases, cleanup reports, underground storage tanks and or well documentation, wetlands information and brownfields information. Development Services | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)
• Wilson Fire/Rescue Services: Fire code violation records, environmental records. Fire Inspection and Permits | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)
• City Clerk’s Office:, Agendas, Notices and Video City Council Meetings | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)  Council meeting Minutes (link to submit a records request here)
• Police Department: Policies, events, arrests, and incidents. Wilson Police Department and Office of the Sheriff | Police to Citizen - Home
• Human Resources/Risk Safety Management Department: Salaries, employment history, liability insurance information, certificates of insurance. Human Resources | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)
• Purchasing:  Bid information and contracts. Purchasing Division | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)
• Finance/Customer Service:  Vendor payment report, expenditure data, transactional payments or disbursements. Customer Service and Business Operations | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org) Financial Services | Wilson, NC (wilsonnc.org)

Records Not Held by the City of Wilson

• Birth, Death, or Marriage Records are available through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Vital Records NCDHHS: DPH: NC Vital Records Home .
• Criminal, Court, or Divorce Records are available through the Wilson County Clerk of Superior Court.
• Environmental Assessment Records, including above-ground or below-ground storage tanks and/or hazardous material spills, are available through the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Permits and Inspection Branch Permits and Inspection Branch | NC DEQand the Hazardous Waste Section About the Hazardous Waste Program | NC DEQ.
• Real estate and property records are available through the Wilson County Register of Deeds Register of Deeds | Wilson County (wilsoncountync.gov) .
• Property tax information is available through the Wilson County Tax Office Tax Department | Wilson County (wilsoncountync.gov)

 Information that Is Not Public Record

• Personnel information and records other than what is specifically made public under G.S.§ 160A-168.
• Personally identifiable information of public utility customers including utility service account holder information, addresses for water and electricity shut offs, sanitation pick up, etc. (G.S. § 132-1.14).
• Police records that include specific tactics, or specific security or emergency procedures (G.S. § 132-1.7).
• Criminal investigation and criminal intelligence records except those specihttps://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_132/gs_132-1.1.htmlfically made public by G.S. § 132-1.4. 
• Public enterprise billing data (G.S. § 132-1.1(c))

 General Public Records Request Information

• Be specific about what you’re looking for. Include names and dates, if known. You may be asked to clarify your request.
• To assist us in efficiently filling email requests, provide a time period for the request, keywords or topic information.  Please specify if you want all emails including those sent by the public, or only emails between staff and/or council.
• Email requests will be filtered to exclude automatically generated emails such as calendar notifications, out of office replies, newsletters and City press releases, etc. Please specify if you would like those materials included.
• The City is not required to create or compile records that do not already exist (G.S. § 132-6).
• Public Records in North Carolina Overview Microsoft Word - public_records_overview.docx (unc.edu)

If you need information that is not available from the links above, please visit the Public Records Request Portal to submit a request.