§ 612.10 - Fees

§ 612.10 Fees

(a) In general. NSF will charge for processing requests under the FOIA in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, except where fees are limited under paragraph (d) of this section or where a waiver or reduction of fees is granted under paragraph (k) of this section. If fees are applicable, NSF will itemize the amounts charged. NSF may collect all applicable fees before sending copies of requested records to a requester. Requesters must pay fees by check or money order made payable to the Treasury of the United States.

(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:

(1) Commercial use request means a request from or on behalf of a person who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers his or her commercial, trade, or profit interests, which can include furthering those interests through litigation. When it appears that the requester will put the records to a commercial use, either because of the nature of the request itself or because NSF has reasonable cause to doubt a requester's stated use, NSF will provide the requester a reasonable opportunity to submit further clarification.

(2) Direct costs means those expenses that an agency actually incurs in searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial use requests, reviewing) records to respond to a FOIA request. Direct costs include, for example, the salary of the employee performing the work (the basic rate of pay for the employee, plus 16 percent of that rate to cover benefits) and the cost of operating duplication machinery. Not included in direct costs are overhead expenses such as the costs of space and heating or lighting of the facility in which the records are kept.

(3) Duplication means the making of a copy of a record, or of the information contained in it, necessary to respond to a FOIA request. Copies can take the form of paper, microform, audiovisual materials, or electronic records (for example, magnetic tape or compact disk) among others. NSF will honor a requester's specified preference of form or format of disclosure if the record is readily reproducible by NSF, with reasonable effort, in the requested form or format.

(4) Educational institution means a preschool, a public or private elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of graduate higher education, an institution of professional education, or an institution of vocational education that operates a program of scholarly research. To be in this category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use, but are sought to further scholarly research.

(5) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that is not operated on a “commercial” basis, as that term is defined in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and that is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. To be in this category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by and made under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use or to promote any particular product or industry, but are sought to further scientific research.

(6) Representative of the news media or news media requester means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. The term news means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances where they can qualify as disseminators of “news”) who make their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. For “freelance” journalists to be regarded as working for a news organization, they must demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but NSF shall also look to the past publication record of a requester in making this determination. To be in this category, a requester must not be seeking the requested records for a commercial use. However, a request for records supporting the news dissemination function of the requester will not be considered to be for a commercial use.

(7) Review means the examination of a record located in response to a request in order to determine whether any portion of it is exempt from disclosure. It also includes processing any record for disclosure, for example, doing all that is necessary to redact it and prepare it for disclosure. Review costs are recoverable even if a record ultimately is not disclosed. Review time includes time spent considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a business submitter under § 612.8, but does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions.

(8) Search means the process of looking for and retrieving records or information responsive to a request. It includes page by page or line by line identification of information within records and also includes reasonable efforts to locate and retrieve information from records maintained in paper or electronic form or format, or stored in Federal Records Centers. NSF will ensure that searches are done in the most efficient and least expensive manner reasonably possible. For example, NSF will not search line by line where duplicating an entire document would be quicker and less expensive.

(c) Fees. In responding to FOIA requests, NSF will charge the following fees unless a waiver or reduction of fees has been granted under paragraph (k) of this section:

(1) Search.

(i) Search fees will be charged for all requests, other than requests made by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media, subject to the limitations of paragraph (d) of this section. NSF may charge for time spent searching even if responsive records are not located or are withheld entirely as exempt from disclosure.

(ii) Manual searches for records. Whenever feasible, NSF will charge at the salary rate(s) (i.e., basic pay plus 16 percent) of the employee(s) conducting the search. Where a homogeneous class of personnel is used exclusively (e.g., all administrative/clerical or all professional/executive), NSF has established an average rate for the range of grades typically involved. Routine search for records by administrative personnel are charged at $5.50 for each quarter hour. When a non-routine, non-clerical search by professional personnel is conducted (for example, where the task of determining which records fall within a request requires professional time) the charge is $11.50 for each quarter hour.

(iii) Computer searches of records. NSF will charge at the actual direct cost of conducting the search. This will include the cost of operating the computer system(s) for that portion of operating time that is directly attributable to searching for records responsive to a FOIA request and operator/programmer salary (i.e., basic pay plus 16 percent) apportionable to the search. When NSF can establish a reasonable agency-wide average rate for computer operating costs and operator/programmer salaries involved in FOIA searches, the Foundation will do so and charge accordingly.

(iv) Archived records. For requests that require the retrieval of records stored by NSF at a Federal records center operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), additional costs will be charged in accordance with the Transactional Billing Rate Schedule established by NARA.

(2) Duplication. Duplication fees will be charged to all requesters, subject to the limitations of paragraph (d) of this section. For a paper photocopy of a record (no more than one copy of which need be supplied), the fee will be ten cents per page. For copies produced by computer, such as print outs, tapes, compact disks, or other electronic media, NSF will charge the direct costs, including operator time, of producing the copy. Where paper documents must be scanned in order to comply with a requester's preference to receive the records in an electronic format, the requester shall pay the direct costs associated with scanning those materials. For other forms of duplication, NSF will charge the direct costs of that duplication.

(3) Review. Review fees will be charged to requesters who make a commercial use request. Review fees will be charged only for the initial record review, in other words, the review done when NSF determines whether an exemption applies to a particular record or record portion at the initial request level. NSF may charge for review even if a record ultimately is not disclosed. No charge will be made for review at the administrative appeal level for an exemption already applied. However, records or record portions withheld under an exemption that is subsequently determined not to apply may be reviewed again to determine whether any other exemption not previously considered applies; the costs of that review are chargeable where it is made necessary by a change of circumstances. Review fees will be charged at the salary rate (basic pay plus 16%) of the employee(s) performing the review.

(d) Limitations on charging fees.

(1) No search fee will be charged for requests by educational institutions, noncommercial scientific institutions, or representatives of the news media.

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

(i) The first 100 pages of duplication (or the cost equivalent); and

(ii) The first two hours of search (or the cost equivalent).

(3) Whenever a total fee calculated under paragraph (c) of this section is $25.00 or less for any request, no fee will be charged.

(4) The provisions of paragraphs (d)(2) and (3) of this section work together. This means that noncommercial requesters will be charged no fees unless the cost of search in excess of two hours plus the cost of duplication in excess of 100 pages totals more than $25.00. Commercial requesters will not be charged unless the costs of search, review, and duplication total more than $25.00.

(e) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $25.00. When NSF determines or estimates that the fees to be charged under this section will exceed $25.00, it will notify the requester of the actual or estimated amount of the fees, unless the requester has indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. If only a portion of the fee can be estimated readily, NSF will advise the requester that the estimated fee may be only a portion of the total fee. In cases in which a requester has been notified that actual or estimated fees exceed $25.00, the request will not be considered perfected and further work will not be done until the requester agrees to pay the anticipated total fee. Any such agreement should be memorialized in writing. A notice under this paragraph will offer the requester an opportunity to discuss the matter with Foundation personnel in order to reformulate the request to meet the requester's needs at a lower cost, if possible. If a requester fails to respond within 60 days of notice of actual or estimated fees with an agreement to pay those fees, NSF may administratively close the request.

(f) Charges for other services. Apart from the other provisions of this section, when NSF chooses as a matter of administrative discretion to provide a requested special service such as certifying that records are true copies or sending them by other than ordinary mail, the direct costs of providing the service will be charged to the requester.

(g) Charging interest. NSF may charge interest on any unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the date of billing the requester. Interest charges will be assessed at the rate provided in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the date of the billing until payment is received by NSF. NSF may follow the provisions of the Debt Collection Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-365, 96 Stat. 1749), as amended, and its administrative procedures, including the use of consumer reporting agencies, collection agencies, and offset.

(h) Aggregating requests. Where NSF reasonably believes that a requester or a group of requesters acting together is attempting to divide a request into a series of requests for the purpose of avoiding fees, the agency may aggregate those requests and charge accordingly. NSF may presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made in order to avoid fees. Where requests are separated by a longer period, NSF will aggregate them only where there exists a solid basis for determining that aggregation is warranted under all the circumstances involved. Multiple requests involving unrelated matters will not be aggregated.

(i) Advance payments.

(1) For requests other than those described in paragraphs (i) (2) and (3) of this section, NSF will not require the requester to make an advance payment, -in other words, a payment made before work is begun or continued on a request. Payment owed for work already completed (i.e., a prepayment before copies are sent to a requester) is not an advance payment.

(2) Where NSF determines or estimates that a total fee to be charged under this section will be more than $250.00, it may require the requester to make an advance payment of an amount up to the amount of the entire anticipated fee before beginning to process the request, except where it receives a satisfactory assurance of full payment from a requester that has a history of prompt payment.

(3) Where a requester has previously failed to pay a properly charged fee to any agency within 30 days of the date of billing, NSF may require the requester to pay the full amount due, plus any applicable interest, and to make an advance payment of the full amount of any anticipated fee, before NSF begins to process a new request or continues to process a pending request from that requester.

(4) In cases in which NSF requires advance payment or payment due under paragraph (i)(2) or (3) of this section, the request will not be considered perfected and further work will not be done on it until the required payment is received.

(j) Other statutes specifically providing for fees. The fee schedule of this section does not apply to fees charged under any statute that specifically requires an agency to set and collect fees for particular types of records. Where records responsive to requests are maintained for distribution by agencies operating such statutorily based fee schedule programs, NSF will inform requesters of the steps for obtaining records from those sources so that they may do so most economically.

(k) Waiver or reduction of fees.

(1) Records responsive to a request will be furnished without charge or at a charge reduced below that established under paragraph (c) of this section where NSF determines, based on all available information, that disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.

(2) To determine whether the first fee waiver requirement is met, NSF will consider the following factors:

(i) The subject of the request: Whether the subject of the requested records concerns “the operations or activities of the government.” The subject of the requested records must concern identifiable operations or activities of the federal government, with a connection that is direct and clear, not remote or attenuated.

(ii) The informative value of the information to be disclosed: Whether disclosure is “likely to contribute” to an understanding of government operations or activities. The disclosable portions of the requested records must be meaningfully informative about government operations or activities in order to be “likely to contribute” to an increased public understanding of those operations or activities. Disclosure of information already in the public domain, in either duplicative or substantially identical form, is unlikely to contribute to such understanding where nothing new would be added to the public's understanding.

(iii) The contribution to an understanding of the subject by the public likely to result from disclosure: Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to “public understanding.” The disclosure must contribute to the understanding of a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public will be considered. A representative of the news media as defined in paragraph (b)(6) of this section will normally be presumed to satisfy this consideration.

(iv) The significance of the contribution to public understanding: Whether disclosure is likely to contribute “significantly” to public understanding of government operations or activities. The public's understanding of the subject in question must be enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent as compared to the level of public understanding existing prior to the disclosure. NSF will make no value judgments about whether information that would contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government is “important” enough to be made public.

(3) To determine whether the second fee waiver requirement is met, NSF will consider the following factors:

(i) The existence and magnitude of a commercial interest: Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. NSF will consider any commercial interest of the requester (with reference to the definition of “commercial use” in paragraph (b)(1) of this section), or of any person on whose behalf the requester may be acting, that would be furthered by the requested disclosure. Requesters will be given an opportunity in the administrative process to provide explanatory information regarding this consideration.

(ii) The primary interest in disclosure: Whether any identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is “primarily in the commercial interest of the requester.” A fee waiver or reduction is justified where the public interest standard is satisfied and that public interest is greater in magnitude than that of any identified commercial interest in disclosure. NSF ordinarily will presume that where a news media requester has satisfied the public interest standard, the public interest will be the interest primarily served by disclosure to that requester. Disclosure to data brokers or others who merely compile and market government information for direct economic return will not be presumed to primarily serve the public interest.

(4) Where only some of the requested records satisfy the requirements for a waiver of fees, a waiver will be granted for those records.

(5) Requests for the waiver or reduction of fees should address the factors listed in paragraphs (k)(2) and (3) of this section, insofar as they apply to each request.