[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR701.45]

[Page 76-77]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 701_AVAILABILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY RECORDS AND PUBLICATION 
OF DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY DOCUMENTS AFFECTING THE PUBLIC--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart C_FOIA Fees
 
Sec. 701.45  Fee assessment.

    (a) Fees may not be used to discourage requesters, and to this end, 
FOIA fees are limited to standard charges for direct document search, 
review (in the case of commercial requesters) and duplication.
    (b) In order to be as responsive as possible to FOIA requests while 
minimizing unwarranted costs to the taxpayer, DON activities shall 
analyze each request to determine the category of the requester. If the 
activity's determination regarding the category of the requester is 
different than that claimed by the requester, the activity shall:
    (1) Notify the requester to provide additional justification to 
warrant the category claimed, and that a search for responsive records 
will not be initiated until agreement has been attained relative to the 
category of the requester. Absent further category justification from 
the requester, and within a reasonable period of time (i.e., 30 calendar 
days), the DON activity shall render a final category determination, and 
notify the requester of such determination, to include normal 
administrative appeal rights of the determination.
    (2) Advise the requester that, notwithstanding any appeal, a search 
for responsive records will not be initiated until the requester 
indicates a willingness to pay assessable costs appropriate for the 
category determined by the activity.
    (c) Estimate of fees. DON activities must be prepared to provide an 
estimate of assessable fees if desired by the requester. While it is 
recognized that search situations will vary among activities, and that 
an estimate is often difficult to obtain prior to an actual search, 
requesters who desire estimates are entitled to such before committing 
to a willingness to pay. Should the activity's actual costs exceed the 
amount of the estimate or the amount agreed to by the requester, the 
amount in excess of the estimate or the requester's agreed amount shall 
not be charged without the requester's agreement.
    (d) Advance payment of fees. DON activities may not require advance 
payment of any fee (i.e., before work is commenced or continued on a 
request) unless the requester has failed to pay fees in a timely fashion 
(i.e., 30 calendar days from the date of the assessed billing in 
writing), or the activity has determined that the fee will exceed 
$250.00.
    (e) When a DON activity estimates or determines that allowable 
charges that a requester may be required to pay are likely to exceed 
$250.00, the activity shall notify the requester of the likely cost and 
obtain satisfactory assurance of full payment where the requester has a 
history of prompt payments, or require an advance payment of an amount 
up to the full estimated charges in the case of requesters with no 
payment history.
    (f) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee charged in 
a timely fashion (i.e., within 30 calendar days from the date of the 
billing), the DON activity may require the requester to pay the full 
amount owed, plus any applicable interest, or demonstrate that he or she 
has paid the fee, and to make an advance payment of the full amount

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of the estimated fee before the DON activity begins to process a new or 
pending request from the requester. Interest will be at the rate 
prescribed by 31 U.S.C. 3737 and confirmed with respective finance and 
accounting offices.
    (g) After all the work is completed on a request, and the documents 
are ready for release, DON activities may require payment before 
forwarding the documents, particularly for those requesters who have no 
payment history, or for those requesters who have failed to previously 
pay a fee in a timely fashion (i.e., within 30 calendar days from the 
date of the billing).
    (h) DON activities may charge for time spent searching for records, 
even if that search fails to locate records responsive to the request. 
DON activities may also charge search and review (in the case of 
commercial requesters) time if records located are determined to be 
exempt from disclosure. In practice, if the DON activity estimates that 
search charges are likely to exceed $25.00, it shall notify the 
requester of the estimated amount of fees, unless the requester has 
indicated in advance his or her willingness to pay fees as high as those 
anticipated. Such a notice shall offer the requester the opportunity to 
confer with activity personnel with the object of reformulating the 
request to meet his or her needs at a lower cost.