Frequently Asked Questions - Fee Information
Will there be fees associated with processing my FOIA request?The FOIA allows the FTC to charge fees to process your FOIA request. If we estimate that there will be fees involved in processing your request, we will not begin to process it without your permission. You may either indicate in advance in your request your willingness to pay fees or wait for us to contact you to discuss the possible fees. In the latter case, however, we will place your request on hold until we have an agreement with you about fees. If you are willing to pay fees only up to a certain amount, you may say that in your letter. In appropriate cases we reserve the right to require the advance payment of some or all of the fees.
Fees for processing FOIA requests depend on the status of the requestor. To facilitate the FOIA’s goal of making government information available to the public, some services are provided without charge, as noted in the table below. Generally, commercial requestors are those who seek information to further the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requestor or the person on whose behalf the request is made. An educational institution is a school or institution of higher learning which operates a program or programs of scholarly research. A representative of the news media is a person actively gathering news for an entity that publishes or broadcasts news to the public. More exact definitions of these terms can be found at 16 C.F.R. § 4.8(b).
Requester Fee Categories
Requester Category |
Searching | Reviewing | Copying |
| Commercial (including law firms) | Fee | Fee | None |
| Educational institutions | No charge | No charge | No charge for first 100 pages |
| News media | No charge | No charge | No charge for first 100 pages |
| Other (General Public) | No charge for first 2 hours | No charge | No charge for first 100 pages |
Search and Review Fees (per Quarter Hour)
| Clerical | $4.50 |
| Other Professional | $8.00 |
| Attorney/Economist | $12.00 |
| Minimum charge | $14.00 |
Paper Fees
Paper copy (up to 8.5 x 14 inches) |
|
| Reproduced by Commission | $0.14 |
| Reproduced by Requestor | $0.05 |
| Computer Paper | $0.14 |
Microfiche Fees
| Film Copy- Paper to 16 mm Film (per frame) | $0.04 |
| Fiche Copy-Paper to 105 mm Fiche (per frame) | $0.08 |
| Film Copy- Duplication of existing 100 ft. roll of 16 mm film | $9.50 |
| Fiche Copy-Duplication of existing 105 mm fiche | $0.26 |
Paper Copy-Converting existing 16mm Film to Paper |
|
| Conversion by Commission Staff | $0.26 |
Paper Copy-Converting existing 105 mm Fiche to Paper |
|
| Conversion by Commission Staff | $0.23 |
| Film Cassettes | $2.00 |
Electronic Services
| Converting paper into electronic format (scanning), per page | $2.50 |
| Computer programming, per quarter hour | $8.00 |
Other Fees
| Computer Tape | $18.50 |
| Certification | $10.35 |
| Express Mail (first pound) | $3.50 |
| Each additional pound, up to $15.00 |
Requesting a Fee Waiver
You may ask for a waiver of processing fees if your request meets certain requirements. The FOIA permits us to grant a fee waiver if a requester shows that a waiver is appropriate under the following standards: (1) disclosure of the information you are seeking will likely contribute significantly to public understanding of government activities or operations, and (2) the request is not primarily to serve your commercial interest (e.g., you are seeking information for research purposes, or the public interest in disclosure outweighs your commercial interest).
