Bay EvidenceInvestigative research · Bay Area public systems
California CPRA
10 calendar days
Initial determination, not a production deadline. A written extension of up to 14 additional days is permitted only for defined unusual circumstances.
Public beta · Reviewed 22 Sep 2026
Citizens Transparency Institute
Find the record. Test the claim. Know what is held about you.
A public-interest civic intelligence center for people who need evidence, procedural leverage, and a reliable starting point.
Field guide status
Download temporarily unavailable
Bay Evidence paused new signups and downloads on September 23 after a document-integrity review found the current file incomplete. A corrected, source-checked edition will return only after the PDF and data-protection checks pass.
Review the public correctionStart with the task
Transparency is a method, not a link directory.
Begin with a defined question and choose the legal, documentary, or personal-data route that can answer it. CTI connects the tools to the procedure.
01
Obtain government records
Identify the custodian, narrow the record set, submit a precise request, track deadlines, and challenge an inadequate response.
Open pathway
02
Investigate a public claim
Move from an allegation to a source map, contemporaneous records, corroboration, contradiction testing, and a publishable evidence file.
Open pathway
03
Inspect your own data
Find credit, tenant, employment, banking, insurance, criminal-history, utility, identity, and income records held about you.
Open pathway
04
Verify an institution
Trace companies, public contracts, campaign money, property records, court activity, audits, regulations, and responsible officials.
Open pathway
Institutional register
CTI develops public research infrastructure, citizen self-audit tools, and document-led accountability projects.
One institute. Six connected projects.
Operating
Bay Evidence
The nine-county research observatory for housing instability, homelessness, displacement, public spending, service systems, and institutional accountability.
01 →
Public beta
Open Records Workbench
A browser-local request builder, procedural guide, evidence log, response-tracking method, and escalation framework for federal and California records.
02 →
Public beta
Citizen Data Audit
A guided inventory of credit, tenant, employment, banking, insurance, criminal-history, utility, income, and identity files held about an individual.
03 →
Public beta
Open-Source Verification Lab
A reproducible method for defining claims, mapping entities, preserving public material, corroborating findings, and testing contrary evidence.
04 →
Developing
Accountability Casebook
A public-document architecture connecting appropriations, contracts, vendors, capacity, reported outcomes, audits, corrections, and unresolved questions.
05 →
Scoping
Oakland Public Assets & Contracts File
Document-led investigations of procurement, grants, real-property transfers, public-private agreements, the Coliseum disposition, and fiscal responsibility.
06 →
Public records workbench
Request records that can actually be found.
FOIA applies to federal agencies. California state and local agencies generally fall under the California Public Records Act. Other states have their own access laws. None of these laws normally require an agency to create a new record, answer interrogatories, or perform your analysis.
- 01
Find the custodian
Name the agency, department, office, program, contractor, and likely record system. Ask for records held by the agency—not answers to questions.
- 02
Search before requesting
Check open-data portals, meeting packets, prior request logs, audit repositories, contracts, and retention schedules first.
- 03
Describe identifiable records
Use record types, custodians, systems, subjects, date ranges, locations, contract numbers, or search terms. Avoid ‘all records relating to’ when a narrower description will work.
- 04
Control format and cost
Ask for native electronic files with metadata, rolling production, a fee estimate before charges, and inspection where appropriate.
- 05
Build the response log
Record submission, acknowledgment, determination, extensions, productions, exemption citations, search descriptions, and every appeal or mediation step.
- 06
Challenge specifically
Ask the agency to identify the exemption for each withheld category, release segregable portions, explain its search, and preserve responsive records while the dispute is pending.
Know what the clock measures
A statutory determination date is often different from the date records must actually be produced. Log both.
Federal FOIA
20 working days
Determination period, not a promise that all records will arrive by then. Unusual circumstances, clarification, fee questions, and backlogs can affect processing.
Credit-report dispute
Usually 30 days
A consumer reporting company generally investigates within 30 days; some circumstances allow up to 45. Results generally follow within five business days after completion.
California privacy request
45 calendar days
A covered business generally responds to a request to know, delete, or correct within 45 days and may extend once for another 45 days with notice.
Local-only tool
Request builder
CTI does not receive or store what you enter. Review the final request against the target agency’s rules and your jurisdiction’s current law.
Subject: Request for public records — [describe the identifiable records, record systems, custodians, subjects, and search terms] To: [agency / records custodian] Pursuant to the California Public Records Act, Government Code section 7920.000 et seq., I request access to and electronic copies of the following existing records: [describe the identifiable records, record systems, custodians, subjects, and search terms] Date range: [start date] through [end date]. Please search the offices, custodians, accounts, and record systems reasonably likely to contain responsive material. Please produce records in their native electronic format when available, including nonexempt metadata, rather than converting searchable material to image-only PDF. If the volume is substantial, please provide records on a rolling basis. If any portion is withheld, please release all reasonably segregable nonexempt material and identify the specific legal basis for each withholding or redaction. If no responsive records are found, please describe the locations and methods searched. Please notify me before incurring any charge. If fees may be waived or reduced because disclosure serves the public interest and is not primarily commercial, please treat this as a request for that waiver. I am willing to clarify or reasonably narrow the request without abandoning the original submission date. Please preserve potentially responsive records while this request and any administrative review remain pending. I prefer electronic delivery. Sincerely, [Name] [Email or mailing address]
This builder provides general information, not legal advice. Exemptions, deadlines, fees, appeals, identity requirements, and access rights differ by jurisdiction and record type.
Open-source intelligence
A disciplined inquiry converts public material into a documented finding without overstating what the material proves.
The CTI verification method
Question01
Write a falsifiable research question
Define what would confirm the claim, what would disprove it, the relevant time period, and the decision the finding will support.
Map02
Build an entity and source map
List legal names, aliases, addresses, domains, officers, agencies, programs, vendors, identifiers, and likely primary-record systems.
Collect03
Preserve original material
Save the original file, URL, access time, record identifier, source agency, metadata, and a cryptographic hash for high-consequence evidence.
Corroborate04
Seek independent confirmation
Prefer two independent sources. Distinguish a copied claim from a second source and separate a lead from verified evidence.
Test05
Search for disconfirming evidence
Check alternate spellings, contrary filings, later corrections, jurisdiction limits, missing date ranges, and innocent explanations.
Publish06
Show the evidence and the limits
Cite primary records, state what remains unknown, minimize personal data, invite correction, and keep a reproducible research log.
LEAD
Useful for further inquiry; not independently verified.
CORROBORATED
Supported by independent sources or authenticated primary material.
CONTESTED
Material evidence conflicts; publish the dispute and its basis.
Personal data audit
See the files that shape decisions about you.
A credit report is only one consumer report. Housing, jobs, bank accounts, insurance, utilities, licensing, and identity verification may rely on separate files held by different companies or agencies.
Find disclosure and dispute linksCredit files
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion; review identity fields, accounts, inquiries, public records, and addresses.
Tenant screening
Specialty agencies may report rental history, eviction records, address history, criminal records, and risk scores.
Employment screening
Review commercial background reports, The Work Number, and any report named in a pre-adverse or adverse-action notice.
Banking and checks
ChexSystems and similar agencies may affect checking-account access, suspected fraud flags, and unpaid balances.
Insurance and medical underwriting
Request relevant loss-history and MIB files; challenge records that are incomplete, mixed, obsolete, or not yours.
Criminal history
Request your FBI summary and state record directly. A self-review is not always the same report used for employment or licensing.
Utilities and telecom
NCTUE and related files can affect deposits, identity verification, and service decisions.
Government identity records
Review Social Security earnings, IRS transcripts, driving records, benefits files, and agency records through the proper access process.
Research desk
Transparency resource library
Official starting points are labeled. Independent tools can add access or analytical value but do not replace the underlying record.
75 verified entry points
Public records
FederalOfficial
FOIA.gov
Find the correct federal agency, learn the federal process, search existing releases, and begin a request.
Public records
FederalOfficial
FOIA request wizard
A guided federal tool for identifying the agency likely to hold the records you need.
Public records
FederalOfficial
DOJ Office of Information Policy
Federal FOIA policy, guidance, reports, training materials, and agency compliance resources.
Public records
FederalOfficial
National Archives
Research permanently valuable federal records, military service files, historical records, and archival catalogs.
Public records
CaliforniaOfficial
California Public Records Act guide
California DOJ guidance on access to state and local agency records under the CPRA.
Public records
CaliforniaOfficial
California open-government resources
State resources covering the Public Records Act, Brown Act, and Bagley-Keene open-meeting law.
Public records
GeneralIndependent
MuckRock
Independent request filing, tracking, document hosting, and public examples from other requesters.
Some services require payment.
Public records
GeneralIndependent
Reporters Committee Open Government Guide
State-by-state access-law and open-meetings reference prepared for journalists and the public.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
City of Oakland public records
Search prior releases, find departmental liaisons, submit Oakland requests, and check request status.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
Oakland public-records mediation
Ask the Oakland Public Ethics Commission to mediate a disputed or delayed city records request.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
Oakland OPD records
Request Oakland Police Department reports and other records through the listed portal and records unit.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
Oakland legislation and meetings
Search agendas, minutes, staff reports, legislation, votes, and meeting video for City Council and committees.
Money & influence
LocalOfficial
Oakland campaign finance
Search Oakland campaign statements, committees, donors, expenditures, and elected-official filings.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
Oakland open data
City datasets covering service requests, public safety, infrastructure, budgets, permits, and other operations.
Bay Area
RegionalOfficial
Alameda County services and records
Directory for county public records, property taxes, purchasing events, permits, and service systems.
Companies & property
RegionalOfficial
Alameda County Clerk-Recorder
Locate and order recorded deeds, liens, fictitious business names, and other official county records.
Courts & law
RegionalOfficial
Alameda County Superior Court records
Search available civil, criminal, family, probate, and traffic case information for Alameda County.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
San Francisco public records
Find departmental portals and procedures for requesting San Francisco city and county records.
Bay Area
LocalOfficial
San Francisco legislation
Search Board of Supervisors agendas, files, votes, minutes, and supporting documents.
Bay Area
RegionalOfficial
BART public records
Request records from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and review access instructions.
Bay Area
RegionalOfficial
Metropolitan Transportation Commission open data
Regional transportation, land-use, housing, equity, and planning datasets for the Bay Area.
Bay Area
RegionalOfficial
Bay Area Air Quality data
Official regional air-monitoring measurements and station information.
Money & influence
CaliforniaOfficial
California State Controller public pay
Search compensation reported by California cities, counties, special districts, and public employers.
Government data
CaliforniaOfficial
California State Auditor
Search state and local audit reports, high-risk findings, recommendations, and follow-up status.
Government data
CaliforniaOfficial
California open data
Statewide datasets published by California departments and agencies.
Companies & property
CaliforniaOfficial
California Secretary of State business search
Search corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships, statements of information, and filing status.
Money & influence
CaliforniaOfficial
California campaign finance search
Search state campaign committees, contributions, expenditures, lobbying, and financial disclosures.
Courts & law
CaliforniaOfficial
California courts case information
Official guidance and links for finding California state court case information by county.
Courts & law
CaliforniaOfficial
California legislation
Search bills, votes, analyses, committee materials, statutes, and the California Constitution.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Data.gov
Search the federal government's catalog of datasets, APIs, and agency data resources.
Money & influence
FederalOfficial
USAspending
Trace federal awards, contracts, grants, loans, recipients, agencies, places, and spending accounts.
Money & influence
FederalOfficial
SAM.gov contract opportunities
Search federal solicitations, contract opportunities, notices, exclusions, and entity registrations.
Money & influence
FederalOfficial
Federal Audit Clearinghouse
Search Single Audit submissions for governments and nonprofit recipients of federal awards.
Money & influence
FederalOfficial
Federal Election Commission
Search federal candidates, committees, donors, receipts, spending, filings, and enforcement matters.
Companies & property
FederalOfficial
SEC EDGAR
Search public-company filings, ownership reports, exhibits, financial statements, and enforcement disclosures.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Federal Register
Search proposed and final rules, notices, executive documents, and public-comment deadlines.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Regulations.gov
Search federal rulemaking dockets, supporting documents, agency comments, and public submissions.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Congress.gov
Search federal bills, votes, committee reports, hearings, nominations, and the Congressional Record.
Government data
FederalOfficial
GovInfo
Authenticated publications from all three branches of the federal government.
Government data
FederalOfficial
U.S. Census data
Population, housing, economic, demographic, and geographic tables from Census programs.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Government Accountability Office
Federal audits, evaluations, legal decisions, recommendations, and agency implementation status.
Government data
FederalOfficial
Council of the Inspectors General
Directory of federal inspectors general for audits, investigations, hotlines, and oversight reports.
Courts & law
FederalOfficial
PACER
Nationwide federal appellate, district, and bankruptcy case locator and docket system.
Registration required; fees may apply, subject to exemptions and quarterly waiver rules.
Courts & law
FederalIndependent
CourtListener and RECAP
Free independent search for opinions, oral arguments, judges, and many federal docket documents collected through RECAP.
Courts & law
FederalOfficial
Supreme Court opinions
Official opinions, orders, calendars, transcripts, audio, docket information, and rules.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
Internet Archive Wayback Machine
Retrieve archived versions of public web pages and preserve a dated public webpage snapshot.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
Google advanced search
Constrain public-web searches by exact phrase, domain, file type, excluded words, language, and date.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
Google Lens
Reverse-search public images and examine visually similar or previously published material.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
TinEye
Reverse image search focused on prior appearances, modified copies, and publication history.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
InVID verification plugin
Browser tools for extracting video keyframes and supporting image and video verification work.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
ICANN Registration Data Lookup
Search public domain-registration data, registrar details, nameservers, and registration dates.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
OpenStreetMap
Open geographic data for streets, buildings, land uses, infrastructure, and map-based verification.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
Mapillary
Crowdsourced street-level imagery that can help establish place conditions and visual chronology.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
SunCalc
Check historical sun position and shadows when verifying the likely time or orientation of imagery.
OSINT tools
GeneralIndependent
ExifTool
Inspect metadata embedded in files you lawfully possess; preserve originals because platforms often strip metadata.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
AnnualCreditReport.com
The federally authorized source for free reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
CFPB credit-report dispute guide
Steps for disputing inaccurate information with both the reporting company and the data furnisher.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
CFPB dispute sample letters
Downloadable letters for disputes to consumer reporting companies and information furnishers.
Background reports
FederalOfficial
CFPB consumer-reporting company list
Request and dispute specialty reports covering tenants, employment, insurance, banking, utilities, and more.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
FTC credit freezes and fraud alerts
Official instructions for freezing credit files and placing fraud alerts after identity-theft risk.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
IdentityTheft.gov
Create a recovery plan, report identity theft, and generate letters and documentation for creditors.
Credit & identity
CaliforniaOfficial
California consumer privacy rights
Learn how covered businesses must handle California requests to know, delete, correct, limit, or opt out of certain uses of personal information.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
HHS right of access to health records
Federal guidance for inspecting, obtaining, and requesting corrections to health information covered by HIPAA.
Background reports
CaliforniaOfficial
California DMV driver record
Request your California driver record and review the official history maintained by DMV.
Background reports
GeneralIndependent
ChexSystems consumer disclosure
Request the checking-account consumer report used by many banks and credit unions.
Background reports
GeneralIndependent
LexisNexis consumer disclosure
Request a personal disclosure containing public-record and consumer-reporting information held by LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
Background reports
GeneralIndependent
The Work Number employment data report
Request employment and income information maintained by Equifax Workforce Solutions about you.
Background reports
GeneralIndependent
NCTUE consumer report
Request or freeze telecommunications, pay-TV, and utility exchange information associated with you.
Background reports
GeneralIndependent
MIB consumer file
Request the medical-information report used in some life, health, disability, and long-term-care underwriting.
Background reports
FederalOfficial
FBI Identity History Summary
Request your own FBI identity-history summary and learn how to challenge inaccurate federal criminal-history information.
Fingerprint submission and fee generally required; waiver instructions are available.
Background reports
CaliforniaOfficial
California DOJ record review
Request a copy of your California criminal-history record and challenge errors or omissions.
Background reports
FederalOfficial
FTC employment background checks
Understand notice, authorization, disclosure, and adverse-action rights when employers use background reports.
Background reports
CaliforniaOfficial
California Civil Rights Department fair chance guidance
California rights and complaint options concerning criminal-history questions and employment decisions.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
Social Security earnings record
Review the earnings history used to calculate Social Security benefits and report errors.
Credit & identity
FederalOfficial
IRS tax transcripts
Retrieve official tax-return, account, wage-and-income, and verification-of-nonfiling transcripts.
Safety, legality, and publication
Public information still requires judgment.
CTI supports accountability, self-advocacy, journalism, scholarship, and civic participation. It does not support unauthorized access, retaliation, doxxing, coercion, or invasive profiling.
- 01Use lawfully accessible sources and honor access controls, court sealing, and platform rules.
- 02Do not obtain leaked credentials, impersonate people, pretext for private data, or probe systems without authorization.
- 03Investigate matters of legitimate public or personal interest—not private individuals for intimidation, stalking, or harassment.
- 04Minimize publication of home addresses, identity numbers, health information, precise locations, and data concerning vulnerable people.
- 05Separate identity matching from identity certainty. A shared name, address, or photograph is not proof by itself.
If research could expose a vulnerable person, interfere with a proceeding, reveal protected personal data, or create a credible safety risk, pause publication and consult qualified legal or security counsel.
Institutional home
CTI is incubating inside Bay Evidence.
The institute is an independent civic-accountability initiative. Its formal legal and governance structure is still being finalized; it is not a government agency or a tax-exempt charity.