(a) We generally assume that when you request records you are willing to pay the fees we charge for services associated with your request. You may specify a limit on the amount you are willing to spend. We will notify you if it appears that the fees will exceed $25.00 or your specified limit and ask whether you nevertheless want us to proceed with the search.

(b) If you have failed to pay FOIA fees in the past, we will require you to pay your past due bill and we may also require you to pay the anticipated fee before we begin processing your current request. If we estimate that your fees may be greater than $250.00, we also may require advance payment or a deposit before we begin processing your request. If you fail to make an advance payment within 20 working days after the date of our fee letter, we will close the request.

(c) We may charge interest on unpaid bills beginning on the 31st calendar day following the day the FOIA fee invoice was sent. We may assess interest, administrative costs, and penalties for overdue FOIA fee costs.

(d) If we determine that you (either acting alone or with a group of requesters) are breaking down a single request into a series of requests in order to avoid or reduce fees, we may aggregate all of these requests when calculating the fees. In aggregating requests, we may consider the subject matter of the requests and whether the requests were filed close in time to one another.

(e) If, in the course of negotiating fees, you do not respond to the agency within 20 working days of our last communication, your request will be closed.

(f) We may stop the processing of your request, if necessary, to clarify fee issues with you, and to confirm your willingness to pay applicable fees. Fee related issues may arise sequentially over the course of processing a request, and the FOIA allows agencies to stop the processing time as many times as necessary in order to clarify issues regarding fee assessment and willingness to pay fees.

(g) We may charge search fees even if the records are exempt from disclosure, or if we do not find any responsive records during our search.

(h) We do not send an invoice to requesters if assessable processing fees are less than $25.00.

In responding to FOIA requests for records, we charge the following fees, where applicable, unless we have given you a reduction or waiver of fees. The fees we charge for search and review are three-tiered, and the hourly charge is determined by the classification and grade level of the employee performing the search or review. When the search or review is performed by employees at grade GS-1 through GS-8 (or equivalent), an hourly rate will be charged based on the salary of a GS-5, step 7, employee; when done by a GS-9 through GS-14 (or equivalent), an hourly rate will be charged based on the salary of a GS-12, step 4,employee; and when done by a GS-15 or above (or equivalent), an hourly rate will be charged based on the salary of a GS-15, step 7, employee. In each case, the hourly rate will be computed by taking the current hourly rate listed for the specified grade and step in the General Schedule Locality Pay Table for the Locality of Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA, adding 16% of that rate to cover benefits, and rounding to the nearest whole dollar.

(a) Search fees—(1) Manual searches. Fees will be assessed to search agency files and records in both hardcopy and electronic format. Such fees will be at the rate or rates for the classification of the employee(s) performing the search, as established in this section.

(2) Computer searches. We base the fees for computer searches on the actual cost to our agency of operating the computer and the salary of the operator.

(b) Review fees. (1) We charge review fees for time we spend examining documents that are responsive to a request to determine whether we must apply any FOIA exemptions to withhold information. Review time includes processing any record for disclosure (i.e., doing all that is necessary to prepare the record for disclosure), including redacting the record and marking the appropriate FOIA exemptions. We charge review fees even if we ultimately are unable to disclose a record.

(2) We do not charge review fees for time we spend resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. However, we do charge review fees for time we spend obtaining and considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a confidential commercial information submitter.

(c) Duplication fees—(1) Photocopying standard-sized pages. The current charge for photocopying records is $0.10 per page.

(2) Reproduction of electronic records. We will attempt to provide records in the format you sought, if the records are reasonably and readily reproducible in the requested format. We charge you for our direct costs for staff time and to organize, convert, and format data for release, per requester instructions, and for printouts or electronic media necessary to reproduce electronic records requested under the FOIA.

(3) Copying other media. We will charge you the direct cost of copying other media.

(d) Mailing and special delivery fees. We release records by United States Postal Service or, when appropriate, by electronic means, such as electronic mail or web portal. If a requester seeks special delivery, such as overnight shipping, we reserve the right to pass on the actual costs of special delivery to the requester. Requesters may provide their mailing account and billing information to the agency, so that they may pay directly for special delivery options.

(e) Certification of records. The FOIA does not require agencies to certify records as true copies. We may elect, as a matter of administrative discretion, to certify records upon request; however, such a request must be submitted in writing. Further, we will only certify as true copies records that have not left the agency's chain of custody. The charge for certification is $25.00 per record certified.

(f) Other statutes specifically providing for fees. The fee schedule of this section does not apply to fees charged under any statute that specifically requires an OpDiv or StaffDiv to set and collect fees for particular types of records. In instances where records responsive to a request are subject to a statutorily-based fee schedule program, the OpDiv or StaffDiv must inform the requester of the contact information for that program.

(a) If you are a commercial use requester, we charge you fees for searching, reviewing, and duplicating responsive records.

(b) If you are an educational or noncommercial scientific institution requester, or a member of the news media, you are entitled to search time, review time, and up to 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent for other media) without charge. We charge duplication fees after the first 100 pages (or its cost equivalent).

(c) If you do not fall into either of the categories in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section (i.e. you are an “other requester”), you are entitled to two hours of free search time, up to 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent of other media) without charge, and you will not be charged for review time. We may charge for search time beyond the first two hours and for duplication beyond the first 100 pages (or its cost equivalent).

(d)(1) If we fail to comply with the FOIA's time limits in which to respond to a request, we may not charge search fees, or, in the instances of the requester categories referenced in paragraph (b) of this section, may not charge duplication fees, except as described in (d)(2)-(4).

(2) If we have determined that unusual circumstances as defined by the FOIA apply and we provided timely written notice to the requester in accordance with the FOIA, a failure to comply with the time limit shall be excused for an additional 10 days.

(3) If we have determined that unusual circumstances, as defined by the FOIA, apply and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request, we may charge search fees, or, in the instances of requests from requesters described in paragraph (b) of this section, may charge duplication fees if the following steps are taken: we must have provided timely written notice to the requester in accordance with the FOIA and must have discussed with the requester via written mail, email, or telephone (or made not less than three good-faith attempts to do so) how the requester could effectively limit the scope of the request in accordance with 5. U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B)(ii). If this exception is satisfied, we may charge all applicable fees incurred in the processing of the request.

(4) If a court has determined that exceptional circumstances exist, as defined by the FOIA, a failure to comply with the time limits shall be excused for the length of time provided by the court order.

(a) Requesters may seek a waiver of fees by submitting a written application demonstrating how disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

(b) We must furnish records responsive to a request without charge or at a reduced rate when we determine, based on all available information, that the following three factors are satisfied:

(1) Disclosure of the requested information would shed light on the operations or activities of the government. The subject of the request must concern identifiable operations or activities of the Federal Government with a connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.

(2) Disclosure of the requested information would be likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of those operations or activities. This factor is satisfied when the following criteria are met:

(i) Disclosure of the requested records must be meaningfully informative about government operations or activities. The disclosure of information that already is in the public domain, in either the same or a substantially identical form, would not be meaningfully informative if nothing new would be added to the public's understanding.

(ii) The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area as well as the requester's ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public must be considered. We will presume that a representative of the news media will satisfy this consideration.

(3) The disclosure must not be primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. To determine whether disclosure of the requested information is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, we will consider the following criteria:

(i) We will identify whether the requester has any commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. A commercial interest includes any commercial, trade, or profit interest. Requesters will be given an opportunity to provide explanatory information regarding this consideration.

(ii) If there is an identified commercial interest, we will determine whether that is the primary interest furthered by the request. A waiver or reduction of fees is justified when the requirements of paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section are satisfied and any commercial interest is not the primary interest furthered by the request. We ordinarily will presume that when a news media requester has satisfied factors (b)(1) and (2) of this section, the request is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Disclosure to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government information for direct economic return will not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest.

(c) You should ask for waiver or reduction of fees when you first submit your request to HHS, and should address the criteria referenced in this section.