[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 2]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR402.175]

[Page 37-38]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
               CHAPTER III--SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
 
PART 402_AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS TO THE PUBLIC--Table 
of Contents
 
Sec. 402.175  Fees for providing information and related services for 
non-program purposes.

    (a) General. Section 1106(c) of the Social Security Act permits the 
Commissioner to require requesters of information to pay the full cost 
of supplying the information where the information is requested to 
comply with the

[[Page 38]]

ERISA, or ``* * * for any other purpose not directly related to the 
administration of the program or programs under * * *'' the Social 
Security Act. This may be done notwithstanding the fee provisions of the 
FOIA and the Privacy Act or any other provision of law. As used in this 
section--
    (1) Full cost includes the direct and indirect costs to SSA 
(including costs of duplication) of providing information and related 
services under section 1106(c) of the Act; and
    (2) Full cost of an employee's time includes fringe benefits and 
overhead costs such as rent and utilities.
    (b) Non-program related requests. We consider a request for 
information which does not meet or equal any of the criteria in Sec. 
402.170 to be non-program related. (Whether a request for information 
about an individual is made by that individual or by someone else is not 
a factor.) In responding to these requests, or requests for ERISA 
purposes, we will charge the full cost of our services as described in 
paragraph (c) of this section.
    (c) Fee schedule. Our fee schedule for non-program related requests 
is:
    (1) Manual searching for records. Full cost of the employee's time.
    (2) Photocopying, or reproducing records such as magnetic tapes or 
punch cards. Full cost of the operator's time plus the full cost of the 
machine time and the materials used.
    (3) Use of electronic data processing equipment to obtain records. 
Our full cost for the service, including computer search time, computer 
runs and printouts, and the time of computer programmers and operators 
and other employees.
    (4) Certification or authentication of records. Full cost of 
certification or authentication.
    (5) Forwarding materials to destination. If you request special 
arrangements for forwarding the material, we will charge you the full 
cost of this service (e.g., you request express mail or a commercial 
delivery service). If no special forwarding arrangements are requested, 
we will charge you the full cost of the service, including the U.S. 
Postal Service cost.
    (6) Performing other special services. If we agree to provide any 
special services you request, we will charge you the full cost of the 
time of the employee who performs the service, plus the full cost of any 
machine time and materials that the employee uses.
    (7) Billing exceeds cost of service. Generally we will not charge 
you a fee when the cost of the service is less than the cost of sending 
you a bill. However, where an individual, organization, or governmental 
unit makes multiple separate requests, we will total the costs incurred 
and bill the requester for the services rendered.
    (d) Fee for copies of printed materials. When extra copies of 
printed material are available, the charge is generally 1 cent per page. 
If the material may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, 
the charge is that set by the Superintendent. The Superintendent's 
address is in Sec. 402.40.
    (e) Charging when requested record not found. We may charge you for 
search time, even though we fail to find the records. We may also charge 
you for search time if the records we locate are exempt from disclosure.