Washington Request for Public Records is a legal mechanism used by citizens and the media to access public records held by government agencies in the state of Washington. The Washington Public Records Act (PRA) guarantees access to all public records created or maintained by state and local government agencies, including records of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. There are two main types of Washington Request for Public Records: Informal Requests and Formal Requests. Informal Requests are requests made verbally or in writing that do not require the use of a formal Public Records Request Form. Formal Requests are requests made using a Public Records Request Form that must be completed and submitted to the government agency. Both types of requests require a response from the government agency within five business days.