§ 2507.20 - Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00.

§ 2507.20 Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00.

(a) When AmeriCorps estimates that fees will exceed $25.00 and the requester has not stated in writing their willingness to pay fees as high as anticipated, it will inform the requester of the estimated fees, including a breakdown for search, review, or duplication.

(1) AmeriCorps will inform the requester if only a portion of the fee can be readily estimated.

(2) For non-commercial-use requesters subject to search fees, the notice will tell them that they are entitled to two hours of search time at no charge. For all requesters who ask for non-electronic copies of the records, AmeriCorps will inform them that they are entitled to 100 pages of duplication at no charge. In both cases, AmeriCorps will tell the requester whether those entitlements are included in the estimate.

(b) When AmeriCorps notifies a requester that the actual or estimated total fee exceeds $25.00, it will stop work on the request and the processing time will be tolled until the requester, in writing:

(1) Commits to paying the actual or estimated total fee; or

(2) Designates a specific dollar amount of fees they are willing to pay; or

(3) Tells AmeriCorps that they seek only that which can be provided with two free hours of search time and 100 free pages of duplication, in the case that they are eligible for these entitlements.

(c) If the requester has specified a fee amount they are willing to pay, but AmeriCorps estimates that the total fee will be greater than that:

(1) It will notify the requester of the estimated excess and ask if they wish to either revise the amount of fees they are willing to pay or modify the request, and

(2) The Agency will stop work on the request and toll the processing time according to § 2507.10(f).

(d) The FOIA Officer or FOIA Public Liaison will be available to help any requester reformulate a request to meet the requester's needs at a lower cost.