If you have a specific question about fees, please contact the local FOIA Office to which your request was or will be submitted.
There is no initial fee to make a FOIA request, and in many cases no fees are charged. However, we are authorized by law to recover the direct costs of providing information to a FOIA requester. For purposes of fees only, the FOIA divides requesters into three categories:
- commercial use requesters,
- news media, educational, or scientific requesters; and
- all other requesters.
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Fee schedule (as of 5/9/02):
Duplication charges:
Search charges:
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$20.00 per hour for clerical staff
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$44.00 per hour for professional staff
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$75.00 per hour for executive staff
Review charges:
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$20.00 per hour for clerical staff
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$44.00 per hour for professional staff
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$75.00 per hour for managerial staff
Fee Waivers
If you expect or are advised that a fee will be charged, you may request a fee waiver of those fees. However, fee waivers are limited to situations in which a requester can show that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations and activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. For a more complete explanation of fee and fee waiver matters, go to the Department of Defense FOIA Regulations and scroll down to the "Fees" subheading.