[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 5, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 5CFR1303.40]

[Page 110-111]
 
                    TITLE 5--ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL
 
              CHAPTER III--OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
 
PART 1303--PUBLIC INFORMATION PROVISIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 1303.40  Fees to be charged--general.

    OMB should charge fees that recoup the full allowable direct costs 
it incurs. Moreover, it shall use the most efficient and least costly 
methods to comply with requests for documents made under the FOIA. When 
documents that would be responsive to a request are maintained for 
distribution by agencies operating statutory-based fee schedule programs 
(see definition in Sections 1303.30(b)), such as the NTIS, OMB should 
inform requesters of the steps necessary to obtain records from those 
sources.
    (a) Manual searches for records. OMB will charge at the salary 
rate(s) (i.e., basic pay plus 16 percent) of the employee(s) making the 
search.
    (b) Computer searches for records. OMB will charge at the actual 
direct cost of providing the service. This will include the cost of 
operating the central processing unit (CPU) for that portion of 
operating time that is directly attributable to searching for records 
responsive to a FOIA request and operator/programmer salary 
apportionable to the search.
    (c) Review of records. Only requesters who are seeking documents for 
commercial use may be charged for time spent reviewing records to 
determine whether they are exempt from mandatory disclosure. Charges may 
be assessed only for the initial review; i.e., the review undertaken the 
first time OMB analyzes the applicability of a specific exemption to a 
particular record or portion of a record. Records or portions of records 
withheld in full under an exemption that is subsequently determined not 
to apply may

[[Page 111]]

be reviewed again to determine the applicability of other exemptions not 
previously considered. The costs for such a subsequent review is 
assessable.
    (d) Duplication of records. Records will be duplicated at a rate of 
$.15 per page. For copies prepared by computer, such as tapes or 
printouts, OMB shall charge the actual cost, including operator time, of 
production of the tape or printout. For other methods of reproduction or 
duplication, OMB will charge the actual direct costs of producing the 
document(s). If OMB estimates that duplication charges are likely to 
exceed $25, it shall notify the requester of the estimated amount of 
fees, unless the requester has indicated in advance his willingness to 
pay fees as high as those anticipated. Such a notice shall offer a 
requester the opportunity to confer with agency personnel with the 
object of reformulating the request to meet his or her needs at a lower 
cost.
    (e) Other charges. OMB will recover the full costs of providing 
services such as those enumerated below when it elects to provide them:
    (1) Certifying that records are true copies;
    (2) Sending records by special methods such as express mail.
    (f) Remittances shall be in the form either of a personal check or 
bank draft drawn on a bank in the United States, or a postal money 
order. Remittances shall be made payable to the order of the Treasury of 
the United States and mailed to the FOIA Officer, Office of Management 
and Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
    (g) A receipt for fees paid will be given upon request. Refund of 
fees paid for services actually rendered will not be made.
    (h) Restrictions on assessing fees. With the exception of requesters 
seeking documents for a commercial use, OMB will provide the first 100 
pages of duplication and the first two hours of search time without 
charge. Moreover, OMB will not charge fees to any requester, including 
commercial use requesters, if the cost of collecting a fee would be 
equal to or greater than the fee itself.
    (1) The elements to be considered in determining the ``cost of 
collecting a fee'' are the administrative costs of receiving and 
recording a requester's remittance, and processing the fee for deposit 
in the Treasury Department's special account.
    (2) For purposes of these restrictions on assessment of fees, the 
word ``pages'' refers to paper copies of ``8\1/2\  x  11'' or ``11  x  
14.'' Thus, requesters are not entitled to 100 microfiche or 100 
computer disks, for example. A microfiche containing the equivalent of 
100 pages or 100 pages of computer printout, does meet the terms of the 
restriction.
    (3) Similarly, the term ``search time'' in this context has as its 
basis, manual search. To apply this term to searches made by computer, 
OMB will determine the hourly cost of operating the central processing 
unit and the operator's hourly salary plus 16 percent. When the cost of 
search (including the operator time and the cost of operating the 
computer to process a request) equals the equivalent dollar amount of 
two hours of the salary of the person performing the search, i.e., the 
operator, OMB will begin assessing charges for computer search.

[52 FR 49153, Dec. 30, 1987, as amended at 63 FR 20515, Apr. 27, 1998]