Office of Information Practices

Opinion Letter No. 97-10
December 30, 1997
Experience Certificates of Applicants for Contractors Licenses

Prior to a Contractors License Board decision on an application for a contractors license, experience certificates submitted as part of the application are exempt from disclosure under the UIPA’s exception for disclosure that would constitute “a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” In balancing the individual’s privacy interest against the public interest in disclosure, the OIP considered the Legislature’s determination that an individual has a significant privacy interest in the information contained in the experience certificates as “information compiled as part of an inquiry into an individual’s fitness to be granted…a license.”

While the requester suggested that disclosure prior to board action on the application would enhance the public’s ability to comment on an applicant’s qualification for licensure, the public interest in disclosure under the UIPA lies in reviewing the government’s actions. Because, prior to board action on an application, no government action has occurred, the OIP determined that public interest in disclosure does not outweigh the individual’s significant privacy interest in the information contained in the experience certificates.

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