§ 1206.503 - Restrictions on charging fees.

§ 1206.503 Restrictions on charging fees.

(a) No search fees will be charged when the FOIA office for requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media, unless the records are sought for a commercial use.

(b) If NASA fails to comply with the

statutory

FOIA's time limits in

response

which to

a request if no unusual or exceptional circumstances apply to the processing of the request, as those terms are defined in Subpart D of this regulation.

(b) In the case of a requester as defined in § 1206.507(c)(2) (education and noncommercial scientific institution) and (c)(3) (representative of the news media), no duplication fees will be charged when the FOIA office fails to comply with the statutory time limits in response to a request if no unusual or exceptional circumstances apply to the processing of the request, as those terms are defined in subpart D of this part.

(c) Fees will not be charged unless they are over $50.00.

(d)

respond to a request, it may not charge search fees, or, in the instances of requests from requesters described in paragraph (a) of this section, may not charge duplication fees, except as described in paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this section.

(1) If a NASA component has determined that unusual circumstances as defined by the FOIA apply, and the component 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.

(2) If NASA has determined that unusual circumstances, as defined by the FOIA, apply and more than 5,000 pages are necessary to respond to the request, the Agency may charge search fees, or, in the case of requesters described in paragraph (a) of this section, may charge duplication fees, if the following steps are taken. The Agency must have provided timely written notice of unusual circumstances to the requester in accordance with the FOIA and the component 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 the exception in this paragraph (b)(2) is satisfied, the Agency may charge all applicable fees incurred in the processing of the request.

(3) 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.

(c) No search or review fees will be charged for a quarter-hour period unless more than half of that period is required

to fulfill processing of the request.

for search or review.

(d) Except for requesters seeking records for a commercial use, NASA will provide without charge:

(1) The first 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent for other media); and

(2) The first two hours of search.

(e) When, after first deducting the 100 free pages (or its cost equivalent) and the first two hours of search, a total fee calculated under § 1206.504 is less than $50.00 for any request, no fee will be charged.

[79 FR 46678, Aug. 11, 2014, as amended at NASA-2019-0005, 84 FR 54776, Oct. 11, 2019]