There are four categories of FOIA requestors: commercial use requestors educational and non-commercial scientific institutions; representatives of the news media; and all other requestors. The specific levels of fees for each of these categories are:
(a) Commercial use requestors. When OA receives a request for documents for commercial use, it will assess charges that recover the full direct costs of searching for, reviewing for release, and duplicating the record sought. Requestors must reasonably describe the records sought. Commercial use requestors are not entitled to two hours of free search time nor 100 free pages of reproduction of documents. OA may recover the cost of searching for and reviewing records even if there is ultimately no disclosure of records (see Sec. 2502.14).
(b) Educational and non-commercial scientific institution requestors. OA shall provide documents to requestors in this category for the cost of reproduction alone, excluding charges for the first 100 pages. To be eligible for inclusion in this category, requestors must show that the request is being made as authorized by and under the auspices of a qualifying institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use, but are sought in furtherance of scholarly if the request is from an education institution) or scientific (if the request is from a non-commercial scientific institution) research. Requestors must reasonably describe the records sought.
(c) Requestors who are representatives of the news media. OA shall provide documents to requestors in this category for the cost of reproduction alone, excluding charges for the first 100 pages. To be eligible for inclusion in this category, a requestor must meet the criteria in Sec. 2502.11(j), and his or her request must not be made for commercial use. In reference to this class of requestors a request for records supporting the news dissemination function of the requestor shall not be considered to be a request that is for a commercial use. Requestors must reasonably describe the records sought.
(d) All other requestors. OA shall charge requestors who do not fit into any of the categories above fees that recover the full, reasonable, direct cost of searching for and reproducing the records that are responsive to the request, except that the first 100 pages and the first two hours of search time shall be furnished without charge. Moreover, requests for records about the requestors filed in OA's system of records will continue to be treated under the fee provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974 which permit fees only for reproduction. Requestors must reasonably describe the records sought. [56 FR 5742, Feb. 13, 1991]