Sunshine laws and search fees
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| 1. Select a state |
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| 2. See also |
Many states have a fee limit for how can be charged to provide public records to requester. Here is a list of fees charged by state:
Alabama Public Records Law
- N/A
The Alabama law does not encourage the use of search fees nor does it prevent public bodies from charging them. The act is silent as to the appropriate use of fees.
Alaska Public Records Act
If the time required to research and collect the requested records exceeds 5 hours per calender month, then the requestor is obligated to pay for the hourly labor at the rate of salary of those working. This fee must be paid prior to receiving the records and can be charged prior to the research.[1]
Arizona Public Records Law
The Arizona law allows agencies to charge reasonable fees to cover search expenses but does not elaborate on what those fees may be. [1]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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Arkansas Freedom of Information Act
The Arkansas law does not allow public bodies to charge for search fees or to charge for the payment of employees involved in searching for records requests.
California Public Records Act
California law does not permit public bodies to charge fees incorporating search and staff time.
- When a person asks to inspect records, but not copy them, CPRA does not include a provision that allows government agencies to charge for search and retrieval time.
- In 1994, a California court disallowed a 25-cent per-page fee because the agency arrived at the fee by adding staff time into its calculations.
Extensive and burdensome searches
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation v. Deukmejian declared that the cost incurred by any department of separating exempted material from non-exempted material represents a detriment to the public interest of the smooth and efficient flow of government. This detriment can be weighted against the benefit to the public of the release of the records when considering whether to deny records requests based on statute 6255 of the California Public Records Act
Colorado Open Records Act
Colorado law permits charging fees for both duplication and search costs. Fees may be waved if the records are being used for public service.
Connecticut Freedom of Information Act
Connecticut allows for charging fees which include the cost of employee time in searching for the requested documents.[1]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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Delaware Freedom of Information Act
- N/A
The Delaware law does not encourage the use of search fees nor does it prevent public bodies from charging them. The act is silent as to the appropriate use of fees.
Florida Sunshine Law
Special service charges over-and-above copying fees are permitted in some circumstances:
- According to a 1995 statute, this fee is intended for those times when the records requested "require extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by personnel of the agency."
- "Information technology resources" is defined as "data processing hardware and software and services, supplies, personnel, facility resources, maintenance and training, or other related resources."
- Charges levied under this 1995 statute are supposed to reflect the actual costs of the agency that does the work.
- These charges are not supposed to be levied for routine requests.
Georgia Open Records Act
Agencies are permitted to charge a reasonable fee for search, collection and administrative costs of complying with records requests, not to exceed the salary of the lowest paid staff member who could collect the records. The first quarter hour is required to be free. [1]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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Hawaii Uniform Information Practices Act
Hawaiian law permits agencies to charge search fees for the cost of collecting, separating and preparing records for duplication. The law outlines very specific fees to be charged for the following services:
- Search and retrieval: $2.50/15 minutes
- Review and segregation: $5/15 minutes
- 100% of any charge assessed to the department by an outside source hired to assist in the retrieval of records.
Agencies may not charge for the first $30 of any records request. Some agencies are designated to set their own fee schedule but may only charge fees to account for the actual cost of all of the above services. [1]
Idaho Public Records Act
Fees may be charged to account for the cost of the staff time consumed by the search. [1]
Illinois Freedom of Information Act
Fees shall exclude the costs of any search for and review of the record.[1]
Indiana Access to Public Records Act
Iowa Open Records Law
The Iowa law does not permit charging fees for the cost associated with the search and retrieval of records.
Kansas Open Records Act
Kora permits charging for fees associated with the search and collection of records. However, these fees must be incorporated into the $.25 per page cap, except in circumstances and situations where the request is overly burdensomet. [1]
Kentucky Open Records Act
Only copies requested for commercial purpose allow additional fees to be charged for the staff time consumed by both the search and the duplication. [1]
Louisiana Public Records Act
- N/A
The act is silent as to whether or not reasonable fees includes the cost of searching for and assembling records.
Maine Freedom of Access Act
Agencies may charge fees to cover the staff time involved in the search not to exceed $10 an hour and only after the first hour of searching. Agencies may also charge fees for translating documents but cannot charge fees for just inspection.[1]
Maryland Public Information Act
The Maryland law allows departments to charge fees for any staff time in excess of 2 hours involved in the search, compilation, or reproduction of materials. [1]
Massachusetts Public Records Act
Reasonable fees for records may be charged to cover the actual cost of records searches.[1]
Michigan Freedom of Information Act
Public bodies in Michigan may charge for the labor associated with search, examination for approval and labor involved in duplication. They may only charge up to the hourly rate of the lowest paid salary employee who would be qualified to perform the work. Fees may not be charged for the separation of exempt from non-exempt material unless failure to charge would result in a high cost for the public body.[1]
Minnesota Data Practices Act
Public entities are entitled to charge fees for the labor costs involved in the search. However, they cannot charge for the separation of public and private data. [1]
Mississippi Public Records Act
Mississippi law allows for the charging of fees to include labor costs associated with the search, compilation and duplication of materials.[1]
Missouri Sunshine Law
Missouri law allows for charging of fees which include the cost of research and labor involved in duplication.[1]
Montana Public Records Act
- N/A
The Montana law is unclear as to what it may charge for search and collection fees. While the law permits charging for "filing" fees it does not establish what that entails. [1]
Nebraska Public Records Law
Nebraska cannot charge for the labor time as it would run counter to the declared intent of the passage which states that record access shall be free of charge.[1]
Nevada Open Records Act
- N/A
The act is silent as to whether or not entities may charge search fees for locating and collecting the records. In general, fees that go beyond the cost of mere duplication are recorded by statute, implying that departments should not charge fees for labor involved in search and duplication unless otherwise required by statute.
New Hampshire Right to Know Law
New Hampshire law does not allow public agencies to charge fees to cover the cost of records searches. [1]
New Jersey Open Public Records Act
New Jersey law does not permit public bodies to charge for search fees.
New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act
The fee cannot include the cost of assembling the records or determining its exemption status. [1]
New York Freedom of Information Law
FOIL does not allow agencies to charge for the time spent searching for the requested records.
North Carolina Public Records Law
- N/A
North Carolina law does not permit public bodies to charge search fees for standard requests. However, if the search is expansive and requires a great deal of staff time, an additional special fee may be charged. [1]
North Dakota Open Records Statute
Labor fees may be up to $25 an hour, not to include the first hour of labor and may include both search time, and the time it takes to separate exempt and non-exempt material.[1]
Ohio Open Records Law
- N/A
Ohio law does not elaborate on whether or not fees may be charged for the labor of searching for and compiling documents.
Oklahoma Open Records Act
For records requests made with commercial intent or for records that present an abnormally large amount of labor, fees may be charged that cover the cost of labor involved in the search and duplication. [1]
Oregon Public Records Law
- A charge for copies may also include the cost of staff time in conducting a file search and the cost of staff time involved in separating exempt records from non-exempt records. However, the agency is not allowed to charge for any attorney time spent deciding whether a record is exempt or not.
- According to the state's attorney general, the government agency can charge the requestor for the search time even if no records are located.[1]
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, 192.440(4)
Pennsylvania Right to Know Law
In November 2008 Gov. Ed Rendell's office released a directive that allows states agencies to charge "a reasonable fee" for searching and retrieving documents. The directive also allows agencies to charge for redacting nonpublic information from copies of requested government documents.
The directive is controversial because the state's Office of Open Records--which was charged in 2008 with coming up with guidelines to govern how the state's new law would be implemented--says that fees should not be charged for retrieval or redaction.[1]
The director of the OOR says the office is engaging in discussions with the Rendell administration about the new directive because the OOR believes that "When you have a fee structure that allows agencies to charge for the cost of labor, it opens the door to abuse."
Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act
Rhode Island law also allows the charging of fees to cover the cost of the labor involved in the search not to include the first hour of search and not to exceed $15 an hour.[1]
South Carolina Freedom of Information Act
South Carolina also allows public agencies to charge a reasonable hourly fee for the cost of search. However, the fee is not to include the cost of determining if the record is exempt or non-exempt.[1]
- ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, 30-4-30
South Dakota Sunshine Law
While the act is silent, Attorney General opinions have reinforced the notion that agencies may charge fees to cover the cost of records searches.[1]
Tennessee Open Records Act
The Tennessee Office of Open Records Counsel is encouraged to include the costs associated with search time when establishing record fee schedules. [1]
Texas Public Information Act
The TPIA allows a government agency to charge for "all costs" associated with making copies of public information, including:
- The cost of materials.
- Labor. (See also: Sunshine laws and search fees.)
- Overhead costs.
- Agencies can charge for the cost they incur in deleting information from the records that is exempt.
Utah Government Records Access and Management Act
Fees can incorporate staff time for research and collection as well as the cost of publication of the records. The laws mandates that the departments may not charge more than the hourly salary of the lowest paid staff person able to perform the request and cannot charge individuals for the first 15 minutes of work. [1]
Vermont Public Records Law
Vermont law only allows agencies to charge for the cost of search or compilation if the time required exceeds 30 minutes.[1]
Virginia Freedom of Information Act
Virginia law allows agencies to charge fees to cover the actual cost of records searches.[1]
Washington Public Records Act
The fees charged cannot include overhead costs which include the maintenance of equipment and the labor required to search and copy the records.[1]
West Virginia Freedom of Information Act
- N/A
The West Virginia law is silent as to what factors can be added to constitute the cost of making a record available. [1]
Wisconsin Open Records Law
Wisconsin law also allows agencies to charge for the labor involved in the search if the cost in labor to the department is over $50. [1]
Wyoming Sunshine Law
Wyoming law allows public agencies to charge fees to cover the cost of collection and assembly.[1]
See also
- State sunshine laws
- Years that state FOIA laws were enacted
- List of who can make public record requests by state
