2604.503—Limitations on charging fees.

(a) In general. Except for requesters seeking records for a commercial use as described in § 2604.502(b), the Office will provide, without charge, the first 100 pages of duplication and the first two hours of search time, or their cost equivalent.

(b) De minimis fees. The Office will not assess fees for individual requests if the total charge would be $10.00 or less.

(c) Waiver or reduction of fees. Records responsive to a request under 5 U.S.C. 552 will be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where the Office determines, based upon information provided by a requester in support of a fee waiver request, that 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. Requests for a waiver or reduction of fees will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

(1) In determining whether disclosure is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the Government, the Office will consider the following factors:

(i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the Government. The subject matter of the requested records, in the context of the request, must specifically and directly concern identifiable operations or activities of the Federal Government. Furthermore, the records must be sought for their informative value with respect to those Government operations or activities;

(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether the information is likely to contribute to an understanding of Government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the requested records must be meaningfully informative on specific Government operations or activities in order to hold potential for contributing to increased public understanding of those operations and activities. The disclosure of information which is already in the public domain, in either a duplicative or substantially identical form, would not be likely to contribute to such understanding, as nothing new would be added to the public record;

(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to public understanding. The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester or a narrow segment of interested persons. A requester's identity and qualifications—e.g., expertise in the subject area and ability and intention to convey information to the general public—will be considered; and

(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of Government operations or activities. The public's understanding of the subject matter in question, as compared to the level of public understanding existing prior to the disclosure, must be likely to be significantly enhanced by the disclosure.

(2) In determining whether disclosure of the requested information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester, the Office will consider the following factors:

(i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. The Office will consider all commercial interests of the requester, or any person on whose behalf the requester may be acting, which would be furthered by the requested disclosure. In assessing the magnitude of identified commercial interests, consideration will be given to the effect that the information disclosed would have on those commercial interests; and

(ii) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether the magnitude of the identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. A fee waiver or reduction is warranted only where the public interest can fairly be regarded as greater in magnitude than the requester's commercial interest in disclosure. The Office will ordinarily presume that, where a news media requester has satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest will be served primarily by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure to data brokers and others who compile and market Government information for direct economic return will not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest.

(3) Where only a portion of the requested record satisfies the requirements for a waiver or reduction of fees under this paragraph, a waiver or reduction shall be granted only as to that portion.

(4) A request for a waiver or reduction of fees must accompany the request for disclosure of records, and should include:

(i) A clear statement of the requester's interest in the documents;

(ii) The proposed use of the documents and whether the requester will derive income or other benefit from such use;

(iii) A statement of how the public will benefit from release of the requested documents; and

(iv) If specialized use of the documents is contemplated, a statement of the requester's qualifications that are relevant to the specialized use.

(5) A requester may appeal the denial of a request for a waiver or reduction of fees in accordance with the provisions of § 2604.304.

CFR

2604.503—Limitations on charging fees.