Corrections policy

Last updated 2026-09-12

What a correction must carry

A town, county or vendor can ask us to change a figure. We consider a request only when it meets all three conditions below.

  • It is grounded in records. The request attaches the ledger page, purchase order, invoice, resolution or report that shows the figure claimed. A letter without a record is a response, not a correction.
  • It reconciles. The figure claimed must tie to the rows in the record attached, to the cent. A correction that does not sum is not entered.
  • It does not ask us to reinterpret without records. Exhibit E of the national settlement lists uses, and the list is non exhaustive. A town that says an unlisted purchase conforms must attach the documented, evidence based program it served and show the money added to its own spending. An argument without that record is a response, not a correction.

Three channels, one standard

  • Correct the record. For a jurisdiction. Names the page and the figure disputed, states the correction claimed, attaches the record that shows it, and carries a role, an official address and a statement of authority. No anonymous corrections from a jurisdiction.
  • Vendor response. For a company named on a vendor page. Same standard as a jurisdiction, addressed to the vendor page rather than the town.
  • Tip or document. For anyone. Names the jurisdiction if known, describes the document, attaches it. A name and contact are optional.

A jurisdiction or a vendor sends a correction through the form on this site. Open the correction form

Three ways a correction can end

The finding is amended
The record supports the correction and a figure changes. The page shows the old figure, the new figure and the document that moved it. The jurisdiction is regraded.
The finding is withdrawn
The record shows the finding should not stand. It comes down, and the reason it came down stays visible. A withdrawn finding is never quietly deleted.
The finding stands
The record does not move the figure. The finding stays, and the response from the jurisdiction is published beside it in full, so a reader can weigh both.

What happens by when

Acknowledgement
A written acknowledgement within five business days, from the project mailbox.
Decision
A decision with the outcome and the date within twenty business days of receipt, or a written note saying what is still outstanding and why.
Publication
The response is published verbatim beside the finding it contests, with the date received, at the next publish run after the decision.
Extensions
We reserve the right to grant ourselves extensions on any of these timelines, as needed, on terms we choose.

Every response runs in full

A response from a jurisdiction or a vendor is published as it was sent, in full, with the date received. It is not summarised, trimmed, or paraphrased. We reserve the right to publish the entire communication, including every attachment and every message in the thread. The only changes are the removal of a personal contact detail and, where a submission carries the identity of anyone who requested records, the redaction of that identity.

Every town, county and vendor page carries a corrections panel. It reads none received, or it carries the response with its dates.