OPRA Software
OPRA software for New Jersey clerks.
Keep every OPRA request, decision, and response in one record. Track the 7-business-day clock under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5, review each record, and export the response and audit trail separately.
Demo v0.1.1 · Sample records. Nothing is sent. The demo asks you to accept the terms first. Municipal deployment in development →
How is the 7-business-day OPRA software deadline calculated?
OPRA requires a custodian to grant or deny access within 7 business days after receiving the request (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(i)). In 2024, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g) clarified that a request may be submitted through a government portal, online form, or the software the municipality uses. Weekends and State holidays do not count. Bellwether counts the clock from intake and shows the remaining days on the overview.
See how intake keeps the clock current →What counts as a government record — and what does not?
A government record is a record made, maintained, or kept on file in the course of official business (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1). Drafts, deliberative material, and records not yet made are not government records. Bellwether keeps the requested items, the record decisions, and the response letter linked so a not responsive or withholding outcome can be traced to the reviewer’s stated authority.
Why one OPRA software record for intake, review, and response?
Small boroughs route a single OPRA request across shared drives, email, and paper. Bellwether’s case record holds the request, the search across 12 planned connectors (Windows shares, Laserfiche, SDL Portal, Edmunds, and others), the per-record decisions, and the approved release and audit packages. The history shows every action.
How does this OPRA software handle your municipality’s systems?
Bellwether is built for boroughs under 10k that still run on Windows file shares, an Edmunds MCSJ general ledger, an SDL Portal for permits, and a Laserfiche repository for minutes and ordinances. Each planned connector searches its system and keeps the provenance hash with the record. No credentials are collected on this site.
See all 12 planned connectors →Response letter
OPRA software response letter template for New Jersey
Every response needs the custodian’s name, the date, the item-by-item outcomes (release, release with redactions, withhold, not responsive), the specific lawful basis for any redaction or withholding, and delivery arrangements. Bellwether’s letter editor starts with those outcomes and keeps the approved letter with the case for audit.
How the letter is reviewed and approved →Questions
Frequently asked questions about OPRA software
- Is OPRA software required in New Jersey?
- No. OPRA can be handled on paper. Software like Bellwether helps clerks track the 7-day clock, keep decisions with their authority, and produce a separate release and audit export.
- How long are OPRA records kept?
- Retention is set by the New Jersey DARM schedule. Bellwether’s audit export preserves the original, the release copy, and the decision history for the municipality’s retention system.
- What is collected from Zoom or Slack?
- Only messages, threads, and files the municipality authorizes through its connector — the site lists each connector as Planned until a tenant is provisioned.
Municipal deployment is in development
Bellwether’s public demo is synthetic. Nothing is sent. Talk to us about a pilot for your borough.