Legislators, District Attorneys, and any State officer, board, commission, or department. The Attorney General is not authorized to issue opinions to cities, towns, or other political subdivisions, school districts, or private citizens or organizations.
One function of the Attorney General is to issue opinions to legislators and other state officers regarding questions of law in which the officer is officially interested.
Generally, public officials are required to act in accordance with an Attorney General opinion unless or until the opinion is set aside by a court. However, opinions that conclude a statute is unconstitutional are advisory only.
Access the most recent Opionins below. Access previous years decisions on the Oklahoma Public Legal Research System
Policy on Issuing Official Opinions
| 4. | The Attorney General reserves the right to request a District Attorney to submit a written memorandum, including legal authorities, regarding any question(s) submitted. Requests from Assistant District Attorneys must be endorsed by the District Attorney. |
| 5. | Opinion requests from State executive officers, boards, commissions, departments, and agencies must be signed or endorsed by an agency head. The Attorney General prefers opinion requests to be submitted to a vote of the governing board or commission and reserves the right to decline requests that have not been approved by the governing board or commission. Further, the Attorney General reserves the right to request from state agencies that employ legal counsel to submit a written memorandum, including legal authorities, regarding any question(s) submitted. |
| 6. | Opinion requests must be in writing and contain a complete statement of the issues together with a clear, concise question of law. The Attorney General will not resolve questions of fact in an official opinion. |
| 7. | Except for determining whether a contract, agreement, or provision of such is lawful, the Attorney General will not interpret terms of contracts or other legal agreements in the context of an official Attorney General Opinion. |
| 8. | The Attorney General will not furnish official opinions on questions of law about current administrative rules which may be resolved through the rulemaking process under Article I of the Administrative Procedures Act. If a declaratory judgment action or a request for declaratory ruling as authorized by the Administrative Procedures Act, 75 O.S.2021, §§ 306 and 307, has been filed, the Attorney General will not furnish an opinion until the litigation or matter has concluded, appeals have been exhausted, or time for appeal has expired. |
| 9. | As chief law officer of the State, the Attorney General issues official opinions only with respect to questions of statewide interest or application. |
| 10. | Subject to the authority vested in the Attorney General in title 74, section 18b(A)(8) of the Oklahoma Statutes, the Attorney General will not furnish official opinions on questions relating to legislation pending before either house of the Legislature. |
| 11. | Subject to the Attorney General’s determination that important interests warrant the Attorney General’s consideration or intervention, the Attorney General will not furnish opinions on active issues or questions set before any court of competent jurisdiction.[1] |
| 12. | The Attorney General may decline to issue an official opinion which may create, whether directly or indirectly, legal liability on the State, or any agency, board, commission, department, or political subdivision of the State. |
| 13. | The Attorney General will preface all official opinions related to the constitutionality of a state statute or constitutional provision as advisory only.[2] |
| 14. | The Attorney General may issue an official opinion even if the request is withdrawn if the Attorney General determines the issuance of an official opinion (1) serves the public interest or (2) would provide helpful guidance to the public or public officials. |
| 15. | The Attorney General reserves the right to amend, update, or withdraw any official opinion to ensure consistency or compliance with applicable law. |
| 16. | The Attorney General may make exceptions to this Policy when (1) the public interest warrants or (2) an official opinion would provide helpful legal guidance to the public or public officials. |
[1] A.G. Op. 2006-35 discusses circumstances in which the Attorney General may determine to “exercise restraint and not render an opinion unless or until a court has finished its work.” 2006 OK AG 35, ¶ 27.
[2] See State ex rel. York v. Turpen, 1984 OK 26, ¶ 12, 618 P.2d 763, 767.
Opinion FAQ
Submit a signed written request containing, at a minimum, a complete statement of the relevant issues and a concise question of law, to:
Opinion Coordinator
Office of the Attorney General
313 NE 21st Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
opinion.coordinator@oag.ok.gov
Requests from a State board or commission must be made by official action or vote the members. In addition, boards, commissions, or other agencies that have legal counsel must include in their request a legal memorandum citing basic research, points of law, and the requestor’s own conclusion of the question(s) asked.
Once a request is received, it is assigned to an attorney to conduct legal research and prepare an initial draft. Once a draft is completed, it is presented to the Attorney General’s Opinion Conference, a group of experienced attorneys in the office, who discuss the draft, ask questions, and propose revisions. The Opinion Conference members then either approve the draft, with or without revision, or ask for draft to be revised and return for a subsequent Opinion Conference. Once approved, the draft is signed and issued by the Attorney General.
Because opinions may be issued only as to questions of law, requests that turn on questions of fact or require factual determinations are not proper for Attorney General opinions.
While questions involving conflict between state law and municipal ordinances are an appropriate subject for an Attorney General opinion, the Attorney General does not interpret or construe the meaning of individual ordinances.
The Attorney General typically will not issue formal opinions on questions relating to pending legislation or questions that involve pending litigation.
2023-2025 Opinions
Last Modified on
Feb 08, 2025
