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How much do public records cost
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Each state has laws governing public access to governmental records. These laws are sometimes known as open records laws, public records laws, or FOIA laws after the federal Freedom of Information Act. These FOIA laws define the procedures that people can use to obtain access to these records.
This page contains information related to the costs associated with fulfillment of FOIA requests mandated by the laws in each state.
Cost of public records
In all 50 states, FOIA laws allow records custodians to charge fees associated with finding, sorting, and/or copying records. In some states, costs are limited to the copying of documents and the staff time used to fulfill the request. Some legislation uses some variation of the term "actual cost" to refer not only to the physical costs of copying or the actual staff time used, but also to represent other included costs such as utilities, digital hardware or software, postage, and other associated expenditures borne by the public entity in fulfilling requests.
Fee limitations and waivers
FOIA laws in some states set a maximum fee for the cost of copies and labor, while in others public bodies are allowed to assess fees at their own discretion. Maximum fees may be given in numerical form or described in other terms. For example, labor fees for FOIA requests in some states must not exceed the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee. Fees for copying requested documents can depend on the size and color of the documents and how many pages are requested.
Fees are sometimes partially or wholly waived for some requests. In many states, requesters are not charged a fee if they demonstrate that their acquisition is in the public interest. States like Louisiana and Massachusetts provide waivers for indigent citizens or those who cannot otherwise afford to pay the assessed fees.[1][2] Others, like Texas, provide waivers for journalists and elected officials.[3]
Costs by state
The table below shows costs by state as of May, 2021, as reflected in each state's FOIA regulations. Thirty-one states allow public bodies to include actual costs in assessing fees, which could include a variety of associated costs, while 19 states limit fees to the cost of copies and/or labor. FOIA statutes in 25 states contained numerical limits on the cost of requests, while statutes in 25 states did not (although limits may still be set by individual public entities). Twenty-eight states offered waivers in some way, while 22 states did not provide any.
| Cost of FOIA requests by state as of May 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | What do fees cover? | Enumerated costs/cost limitations | Waivers/exemptions | Statute |
| Alabama | Actual costs; staff time | None | None | |
| Alaska | Copies; Staff time | None | In the public interest | AS 40.25.110 |
| Arizona | Copies | None | Copies of police reports; Documents presented to a federal entity | AZ 39-121.01 |
| Arkansas | Actual costs; Copies | None | Noncommercial use; In the public interest | A.C.A. 25-19-105 |
| California | Copies | None | None | CA Govt Code § 6253 |
| Colorado | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.25 per page | Record is used for public purpose | C.R.S 24-72-205 |
| Connecticut | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.25 per page | Requester cannot afford cost; In the public interest; Elected public officials | CFOIA 1-212 |
| Delaware | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: from $0.10 to $2 after first 20 pages | At discretion of public body | Del. Code 29.10003 |
| Florida | Actual costs; Copies | Copies: max $0.15, $1 for certified copies | None | FS 10.119.07 |
| Georgia | Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.10 per page | Requests by civil litigants | O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 |
| Hawaii | Staff time | Labor: max $10/hr for search, $20/hr for review/segregation | In the public interest | Haw. Admin. R. § 2-71-19 |
| Idaho | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | In the public interest; Not primarily in the individual's personal interest; Requester cannot pay fees | IC Section 74-102 |
| Indiana | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.15 per page after 50 pages; Data: max $100; Certifications: max $1; Labor: max $10/hr | Information is in the public interest | 5 ILCS 140 |
| Indiana | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.10 per page, $0.25 for color; Certification: max $5 | Maps for noncommercial purposes | IC 5-14-3-3.6 |
| Iowa | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | Information used to complete and file claims for benefits with the state or federal department of veterans affairs | IC 22.3 |
| Kansas | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.25 per page | None | K.S.A. 45-215 |
| Kentucky | Actual costs for commercial purposes; Copies | Copies: max $0.10 per page | None | KRS 61.874(4) |
| Louisiana | Copies | None | Indigent citizens; Use limited to a public purpose | RS 44:32 |
| Maine | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Labor: max $15/hr after first hour | Indigent citizens; In the public interest | M.R.S. §408-A |
| Maryland | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | Indigent citizens; In the public interest | MS §4–206 |
| Massachusetts | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.05; Labor: max $25/hr | In the public interest; Requester cannot pay fees | MGL 10.66.10 |
| Michigan | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: $0.10 | First $20 waived for indigent persons, persons on public assistance | Act 442 15-234 |
| Minnesota | Actual costs; Copies | Copies: max $0.25 per page for <100 pages | None | MNS 13.03 |
| Mississippi | Actual costs; Staff time | None | None | MC 25-61-7 |
| Missouri | Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.10 per page | In the public interest | MC 610.026 |
| Montana | Actual costs; Staff time | None | Members of the legislature or public officers | MC 2-6-1006 |
| Nebraska | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | None | NRS 84-712 |
| Nevada | Copies; Extraordinary use of personnel | None | At discretion of entity; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs beneficiaries | NRS 239.052 |
| New Hampshire | Copies | None | None | NHC 91-A:4 |
| New Jersey | Copies; Extraordinary expenditure of time and effort | Copies: max $0.75 for 1-10 pages, $0.50 for 11-20 pages, and $0.25 for >20 pages | None | NJS C.47:1A-3 |
| New Mexico | Copies | Copies: max $1 per page | None | NMS 14-2-9 |
| New York | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: No more than $0.25 per page | None | NYS 6 (84-90) |
| North Carolina | Copies | None | None | NCGS 132-6.2(b) |
| North Dakota | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Copies: no more than $0.25; Labor: no more than $25 after first hour | None | NDC 44-04 |
| Ohio | Copies | None | None | ORC 149.43 |
| Oklahoma | Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.25 per page, $1 for certified copy | In the public interest | OORA 24A.5 |
| Oregon | Actual costs | Total may not exceed $25 without written notice | In the public interest | ORS 192.324 |
| Pennsylvania | Copies | Copies: from $0.20 to $5 depending on document | News media; Non-profits; In the public interest | PA P.L. 6, No. 3 |
| Rhode Island | Copies; Staff time | Copies: max $0.15 per page; Labor: max $15/hr after first hour | In the public interest | RIS 38-2-4 |
| South Carolina | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | General Assembly members; In the public interest | SCCL 30-4-30 |
| South Dakota | Staff time for specialized services | None | None | SDC 1-27-1.2 |
| Tennessee | Copies; Staff time | Copies: $0.15 per black and white page, $0.50 for color | None | TC 10-7-503 |
| Texas | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | Journalists, scholars, or researchers; Elected officials; Representative of a publicly funded legal services organization | TGV 552A |
| Utah | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | In the public interest; Requester is subject of record; Requester's legal rights implicated in record | UC 63G-2-203 |
| Vermont | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | None | 1 V.S.A. § 316 |
| Virginia | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | None | VCA § 2.2-3704.F |
| Washington | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | None | None | RCW 42.56.070 |
| West Virginia | Actual costs | None | None | WVC 29B-1-3 |
| Wisconsin | Actual costs; Copies; Staff time | Labor: only charge for costs >$50 | In public interest | WS 19.35 |
| Wyoming | Copies; Staff time | None | None | WS 16-4-204 |
| Note: Information in this table was gathered directly from state statutes and may not reflect the policies of individual public bodies. | ||||
See also
- Request response times by state
- List of who can make public record requests by state
- Freedom of Information Act
Footnotes
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