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For Norfolk, search the City Public Records Portal for published ordinances, resolutions and scanned documents, use FOIA for specific existing records held by City or public-safety departments, and use the Real Estate Assessor for parcel and assessment information.
Norfolk offers three different starting points for three different questions
Public Records Portal
Already-published City material
Best for ordinances, resolutions and scanned documents.
FOIA
Department-held records
Best when the record is identifiable but not already published.
Real Estate Assessor
Property assessment layer
Best for parcel boundaries, ownership and assessment information.
A Norfolk search improves when the requester separates document discovery from a formal records request
The Public Records Portal is a discovery tool. It exposes City Council ordinances, resolutions and other scanned records without requiring the researcher to begin with a custom request. If the needed item is already published there, preserve the document title, date and any ordinance or resolution number shown with it.
The FOIA page handles a different situation: the record is believed to exist in a City or public-safety department but is not already in the portal. Norfolk asks requesters to distinguish public-safety material from general City administration so the request can be routed to the right custodian.
FOIA also has an important boundary. The City explains that the law does not require a governmental body to create a new record, conduct legal research or answer questions about records. Frame the request around existing documents or data rather than asking the office to produce a new analysis.
Real-estate assessment is a specialized source. The Assessor maintains parcel boundaries and ownership information that feeds Norfolk AIR and the assessment process. That information can help identify a property, but it should not be described as if it were a City Council document, police report or court record.
When several Norfolk sources touch the same address or person, preserve the source type beside each fact. An ownership field, an ordinance and a departmental FOIA response may all be relevant to one investigation while proving different things.
Use Norfolk FOIA only after the record has been made identifiable
1
Check the portalSearch published ordinances, resolutions and scanned documents first.2
Name the department or functionDecide whether the target is public safety, general City administration or another known office.3
Describe an existing recordUse document type, subject, location, date range or another locator rather than a question that requires new research.4
Retain the response contextKeep the request scope and the department that produced the record with the delivered copy.Norfolk source choice depends on what the record is supposed to establish
| Need | Official source | Verification habit |
|---|---|---|
| Council action or scanned City document | Public Records Portal | Keep ordinance, resolution or document identifier |
| Existing department-held record | Norfolk FOIA | Keep request scope and holding department |
| Parcel ownership or assessment context | Real Estate Assessor | Keep parcel/property identity |
| Record held by another public body | That body, if Norfolk identifies it | Do not relabel it as a City record |