Privacy policy

Marin County reserves the right to change these policies and procedures at any time without prior notice. The following is not intended and should not be interpreted as a contract of any nature, either stated or implied.

Though personal information may be required either by law or in order for us to provide a requested service, in doing so we are subject to the privacy requirements set forth in the Information Practices Act of 1977 (California Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.) and the requirements for administering information systems in California Government Code Section 11015.5. Pages that appear after you click on a link may be controlled by a different agency or entity, whose practices are not under Marin County's control.
We only collect, retain and use personal information where it is essential (and allowed by law) to administer Marin County business and to provide products, services and other opportunities requested by our visitors.

Prior to data collection, the user will be notified of:

• The purposes for which personally identifiable data are collected and that any subsequent use of the data shall be limited to and consistent with the fulfillment of those purposes.
• That personal data may not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for a purpose other than those specified, except with the consent of the subject of the data, or as required by law or regulation.
• That personal data is protected against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure, and that access to such data is limited to only those employees who need access in order to perform their assigned duties.

For each visitor, information is collected about the Internet Protocol (IP) address, type browser used, the date and time of the visit, and the IP addresses of the locations to which the visitor linked during his or her visit to our Web site. This information is strictly used for statistical reporting purposes. Please be advised that some software we use to administer our Internet site or to provide requested services does use a technology called "cookies".

A "cookie" is a tiny element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive. A cookie cannot read data off a hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. User information is not gathered through cookies except where information is needed to run a specific application, and it is used for this purpose only. You may set your browser to not allow any cookies to be set on your hard drive or to notify you when you receive a cookie.

We do not sell or rent our visitors' information to any outside company or organization. We do not reveal specific information about visitors or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use, except if required to do so by the Public Records Act (California Government Code Section 6250 et seq.) or other law.

The purpose of Marin County's Internet presence is to share information and to enable wider connectivity to County functions in order to improve service to the public, as well as to meet the needs of County staff.

The Marin County Web Steering Committee must approve the creation and implementation of any bulletin board, forum or chat capability. All bulletin boards, forums and chat areas will be governed by written policies and procedures. In addition to the General Policies set forth in this document, the Marin County Web Steering Committee may formulate any additional Policies & Procedures related to the specific purposes of the Bulletin Board Service, forum or chat area.

The Marin County Website will contain no paid advertising or other content promoting the gain or profit of individuals and/or non-Marin County Government businesses.

The purpose of Marin County's Internet presence is to share information and to enable wider connectivity to County functions in order to improve service to the public. Therefore, we encourage the sharing and dissemination of information found on our site. However, Marin County does retain copyright on its Website design elements, including but not limited to, graphic images, logos, trademarks, photographs and web code.

In instances where there is access to copyrighted materials, users of the Marin County Website, must respect all copyrights and may not copy, retrieve, modify or forward copyrighted materials, except where expressly allowed by the copyright law or with expressed written permission from the right owner.

Commercial use of these materials is prohibited without the written permission of Marin County. In all copies of this information, you must retain this notice and any other copyright notices originally included with such information. Marin County reserves all other rights.

Although the data found using Marin County access systems have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate and timely data, Marin County provides this information on an "as is" basis. If you find any errors or omissions, please report them to the responsible department or to the Webmaster.

The Marin County Web Site service is provided through use of County Funds. County funds may not be used for election campaign purposes. Further, Marin County has adopted a no-advertising policy for its Internet site. Therefore, use of the Marin County Web Site for election campaigning is prohibited.

Marin County provides links to other sites on the Internet (WWW), where the information may be of value as an educational or reference tool, or because they may be related to the mission of Marin County. Marin County, at its discretion, may also provide links to sites providing software needed to access information or services provided by the County. Use of information obtained from those websites is voluntary and at the sole risk of the user.

Web sites linked to by the Marin County Web Site, are not controlled or sponsored or endorsed by Marin County. Links to these websites are not intended as an endorsement of any product or service offered or referenced on the linked website, the organizations sponsoring said website, or any views that might be expressed or referenced on the website.

Similarly, websites that link to the Marin County Web Site are not controlled or endorsed by Marin County.
Marin County, in its sole discretion, will determine whether the external website link supports the purpose of this web portal and the mission of Marin County. Links to external websites and pages may be removed or replaced at the sole discretion of Marin County, at any time without notice. In the event you discover problems with or have concerns regarding a linked external website, please contact the organization responsible for the linked external website or the Webmaster.

Although the County of Marin has taken reasonable precautions to limit the presence of viruses in all email transmissions, the County of Marin does not warrant any transmission received as being virus free, and disclaims any liability for losses or damages arising from the use of this email or its attachments. Recipients of email "assume the risk" of possible computer virus exposure by opening or utilizing the email and its attachments, and waives any right or recourse against the County of Marin by doing so.

An email message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed, and may contain information that is privileged, confidential, and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. Access to this email by anyone other than the addressee is prohibited without prior approval.

The County of Marin website uses Google Translation to convert from English to another language. Google Translation provides an automated translation of the website. Since the translations are generated by machines, not all translation will be perfect. As a result, sometimes the translation may lose some of its intended meaning. Therefore, the County of Marin cannot guarantee the accuracy of the converted text. Where there is any question, the English version is always the authoritative version of the website.

Some items on the site may not be translated, such as images containing text, documents, maps, and web page elements. In addition, some features on the site may not work in the translated versions. If you have any questions about information that appears on our site, please contact the Webmaster.