FOIA and Public Records
Axcess1 California
FOIA and Public Records management, built around CPRA
Built around your law — not around generic case management.
Built around your law — not around generic case management
Many case-management products ask a public body to adapt its process to the software. Axcess1 is configured around the legislation, the procedures, the vocabulary and the reporting obligations of each jurisdiction. An organization chooses its Act once; every screen, deadline, letter and report then follows it.
Generic case management
The organization adapts to the software.
Axcess1
The software follows the legislation and the way government works.
Legislation supported
California Public Records Act (Cal. Gov. Code § 7920.000 et seq. (Division 10 of Title 1; recodified by Stats. 2021, ch. 614, operative January 1, 2023))
| What the Act requires | As configured in Axcess1 |
|---|---|
| Who it applies to | State agencies (§ 7920.540): every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board and commission or other state body or agency, except those provided for in Article IV (other than section 20) or Article VI of the California Constitution; also the State Bar of California. Local agencies (§ 7920.510): counties, cities, school districts, municipal corporations, districts, political subdivisions, their boards, commissions and agencies, and other local public agencies. |
| Time limit to respond | 10 days (Gov. Code § 7922.535(a)). The due date is calculated when the request is entered, with the holidays of the jurisdiction. |
| Extensions | Up to 14 days. Up to 14 days, by written notice from the head of the agency or a designee giving the reasons and the date a determination is expected. Unusual circumstances (§ 7922.535(c)): records in separate establishments; voluminous separate and distinct records; consultation with another agency or component having a substantial interest; need to compile data or write a program to extract data; a cyberattack blocking access to electronic records; a state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor. (Gov. Code § 7922.535(b)-(c)) |
| Third parties | The Act sets no formal notice; consultations are recorded and tracked on the request. |
| Decision and reasons | The decision letter gives the reasons, the provision relied on and the right of review (Gov. Code § 7922.535(a) (determination and reasons), § 7922.540 (written denial; names and titles of each person responsible), § 7922.000 (justification for withholding)). |
| Fees | No application fee. Amounts are in U.S. dollars (USD). Copies: fees covering the direct costs of duplication, or a statutory fee if applicable (§ 7922.530(a)). No charge for inspecting, or for copying with the requester's own equipment on the premises (§ 7922.530(b)). Electronic records: direct cost of producing the copy; the requester bears the cost of constructing a record and of programming and computer services when data compilation, extraction or programming is required (§ 7922.575). |
| Review and complaints | the superior court of the county where the records are situated (petition; the Act provides no administrative appeal) (§§ 7923.000, 7923.100 (Division 10 sets no time limit for the petition)) |
Loaded for this Act
- 43 provisions (exemptions, exceptions and exclusions) ready to cite on a redaction, each with its section number.
- Request types: Public records request (CPRA, Gov. Code § 7922.530).
- Statutory steps on the timeline: Determination and notice to the requester, § 7922.535(a) (within 10 days of receipt; reasons; estimated date and time the records will be made available); Extension for unusual circumstances, § 7922.535(b)-(c) (written notice with the reasons and the expected date; not more than 14 days); Assistance to the requester to make a focused and effective request, § 7922.600 (identify records, describe where and how they are held, suggest ways to overcome practical obstacles); Requester directed to the record posted on the agency's internet website, § 7922.545 (a copy must be provided promptly if the requester cannot access or reproduce it); Fees notified to the requester — direct costs of duplication, § 7922.530(a); cost of data compilation, extraction or programming, § 7922.575(b); Written denial in whole or in part, § 7922.540 (names and titles of each person responsible; justification under § 7922.000); Petition to the superior court, §§ 7923.000 and 7923.100 (injunctive or declarative relief or writ of mandate; no administrative appeal); Superior court order, § 7923.110 (order to make the record public, or order supporting the refusal)….
Checked against the published text on 2026-10-03. California Legislative Information — Government Code, Title 1, Division 10, Access to Public Records [7920.000 - 7931.000] (table of contents) · California Legislative Information — Gov. Code §§ 7920.500-7920.545 (definitions: local agency, public agency, public records, state agency) · California Legislative Information — Gov. Code § 7922.000 (justification for withholding a record)
Legislation-to-feature matrix
| Legislative requirement | Axcess1 support |
|---|---|
| Statutory deadline | 10 days (Gov. Code § 7922.535(a)): calculated automatically for each request; overdue and upcoming requests on the dashboard. |
| Extensions and holds | Recorded as events that move the due date, each tied to its section of the Act. |
| Exemptions and exclusions | The provisions of CPRA in the redaction editor, each with its section number. |
| Third parties and consultations | Notices, consultation packages and their due dates tracked on the request. |
| Fees | Fee notices and payments recorded on the request. |
| Reviews, appeals and complaints | Recorded on the request timeline with their dates and outcome. |
| Redaction | Done by the analyst in the built-in editor; optional AI suggestions that the analyst accepts or rejects. |
| Decision letters | Generated from templates for this Act, with the provisions cited. |
| Release | A release package built from the reviewed records; redactions are permanent in the released file. |
| Annual statistics | Annual access statistics for the period, with each figure traceable to its requests. |
| Audit trail | Every action on a request is recorded with the user and the time. |
From request to release
1Receive and validate
The request is entered with its type, requester and date received; a number is issued from your own numbering pattern.
2Calculate the deadline
The due date follows the Act: 10 days (Gov. Code § 7922.535(a)). Holds and extensions move it and are recorded.
3Assign and search
The request is assigned to an officer; the units holding records are tasked and their answers tracked.
4Collect and review
Records are uploaded (PDF, Office files, scans with text recognition) and reviewed page by page.
5Apply the provisions and redact
The analyst marks a passage and picks the provision of this Act; the released copy shows the section relied on.
6Consult
Consultation packages are produced per party, with their due dates.
7Approve
The response goes to the approver's inbox for review and signature.
8Release
The release package and the decision letter are generated from the request.
9Report
Requests, processing times, decisions and provisions invoked are counted for the period you choose.
Agentic AI across the lifecycle
AI is switched off until your administrator turns it on, one capability at a time. AI assists. Authorized officials decide.
Intake agent
Proposes a new request from a message, the portal or a drop folder; an officer confirms it.
Document intelligence
Summarizes and classifies the records and finds the people and organizations named in them.
Responsiveness agent
Suggests which records answer the request.
Exemption assist
Proposes provisions of CPRA with reasons; redaction candidates appear in the editor.
Consultation agent
Suggests who should be consulted and on which pages.
Quality assurance agent
Checks a package a second time before release.
Deadline watch
Lists the requests at risk of running late.
Copilot
Answers questions about a request, citing the records it used.
Migration
Case history, requesters and documents are brought over from the system you use today, so you do not start from an empty database.
Deployment
Hosted by SoftSim in Canada, on your own private cloud or servers, or standalone on a PC or Mac.
Security
Each organization's records are separate, access is controlled by role and every action is recorded. Run on your own servers, your records never leave your premises.
Try it free for 30 days
One licence, the full product, no obligation. Or see it first in a 30-minute demonstration.
Find Axcess1 for your jurisdiction
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Axcess1 supports configurable workflows designed around the applicable legislation. Government organizations remain responsible for legal interpretation and statutory decisions. Summaries of the legislation are paraphrases prepared from the published text; they are not legal advice.