(a) Assessment of fees, generally. FHFA or FHFA-OIG will assess you for fees covering the direct costs of responding to your request and costs for duplicating records, except as otherwise provided in a statute with respect to the determination of fees that may be assessed for disclosure, search time, or review of particular records.
(b) Assessment of fees, categories of requesters. The fees that FHFA or FHFA-OIG may assess vary depending on the type of request or the type of requester you are--
(1) Commercial use. If you request records for a commercial use, the fees that FHFA or FHFA-OIG may assess are limited to FHFA's or FHFA-OIG's operating costs incurred for document search, review, and duplication.
(2) Educational institution, noncommercial scientific institution, or representative of the news media. If you are not requesting records for commercial use and you are an educational institution or a noncommercial scientific institution, whose purpose is scholarly or scientific research, or a representative of the news media, the fees that may be assessed are limited to standard reasonable charges for duplication in excess of 100 pages or an electronic equivalent of 100 pages.
(3) Other. If neither paragraph (b)(1) nor paragraph (b)(2) of this section applies, the fees assessed are limited to the costs for document searching in excess of two hours and duplication in excess of 100 pages, or an electronic equivalent of 100 pages.
(c) Fee schedule. The current schedule of fees is maintained on FHFA's Web site at: http://www.fhfa.gov.
(d) Notice of anticipated fees in excess of $100.00. When FHFA or FHFA-OIG determines or estimates that the fees chargeable to you will exceed $100.00, you will be notified of the actual or estimated amount of fees you will incur, unless you earlier indicated your willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. When you are notified that the actual or estimated fees exceed $100.00, your FOIA request will not be considered received by FHFA or FHFA-OIG until you agree to pay the anticipated total fee.
(e) Advance payment of fees. FHFA or FHFA-OIG may request that you pay estimated fees or a deposit in advance of responding to your request. If FHFA or FHFA-OIG requests advance payment or a deposit, your request will not be considered received by FHFA or FHFA-OIG until the advance payment or deposit is received. FHFA or FHFA-OIG will request advance payment or a deposit if--
(1) The fees are likely to exceed $500.00. FHFA or FHFA-OIG will notify you of the likely cost and obtain from you satisfactory assurance of full payment if you have a history of prompt payment of FOIA fees to FHFA or FHFA-OIG;
(2) You do not have a history of payment, or if the estimate of fees exceeds $1,000.00, FHFA or FHFA-OIG may require an advance payment of fees in an amount up to the full estimated charge that will be incurred;
(3) You previously failed to pay a fee to FHFA or FHFA-OIG in a timely fashion, i.e., within 30 calendar days of the date of a billing, FHFA or FHFA-OIG may require you to make advance payment of the full amount of the fees anticipated before processing a new request or finishing processing of a pending request; or
(4) You have an outstanding balance due from a prior request. FHFA or FHFA-OIG may require you to pay the full amount owed plus any applicable interest, as provided in paragraph (f) of this section, or demonstrate that the fee owed has been paid, as well as payment of the full amount of anticipated fees before processing your request.
(f) Interest. FHFA or FHFA-OIG may charge you interest on an unpaid bill starting on the 31st calendar day following the day on which the bill was sent. Once a fee payment has been received by FHFA or FHFA-OIG, even if not processed, FHFA or FHFA-OIG will stay the accrual of interest. Interest charges will be assessed at the rate prescribed by 31 U.S.C. 3717 and will accrue from the date of the billing.
(g) FHFA or FHFA-OIG assistance to reduce costs. If FHFA or FHFA-OIG notifies you of estimated fees exceeding $100.00 or requests advance payment or a deposit, you will have an opportunity to consult with FHFA or FHFA-OIG FOIA staff to modify or reformulate your request to meet your needs at a lower cost.
(h) Fee waiver requests. You may request a fee waiver in accordance with FOIA and this regulation. FHFA or FHFA-OIG may grant your fee waiver request if disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the Federal Government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. In submitting a fee waiver request, you must address the following six factors--
(1) Whether the subject of the requested records concerns the operations or activities of the Federal Government;
(2) Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute to an understanding of Federal Government operations or activities;
(3) Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to public understanding;
(4) Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of Federal Government operations or activities;
(5) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and
(6) Whether the magnitude of the 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.
(i) Determination on request. FHFA or FHFA-OIG will notify you within 20 days of receipt of your request whether the fee waiver has been granted. A request for fee waiver that is denied may only be appealed when a final decision has been made on the initial FOIA request.