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Fees
There is no initial fee to file a FOIA request and in many cases no fees are charged for processing. By law, an agency is entitled to charge certain fees, depending on the category into which you fall.
For the purpose of fees only, the FOIA divides requesters into four categories:
(1) commercial requesters may be charged fees for searching for records, reviewing the records, and photocopying them;
(2) educational or noncommercial scientific institutions are charged for photocopying, after the first 100 pages;
(3) representatives of the news media are charged for photocopying after the first 100 pages; and
(4) all other requesters (requesters who do not fall into any of the other three categories) are charged for photocopying after 100 pages and for time spent searching for records in excess of two hours. The VA charges $0.15 per single-sided page for photocopying. Actual costs are charged for a format other than paper copy, such as computer tapes, disks and videotapes.
You may include in your request a specific statement limiting the amount that you are willing to pay in fees. If you do not do so, the we will notify you if we anticipate processing costs to exceed your fee category entitlements, as described above.
If we estimate that the fees for processing your request will exceed $250, we will notify you of the estimate and offer you an opportunity to narrow your request in order to reduce the fees.
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