Can a government agency charge for staff time and attorney review when fulfilling a public-records request?

Yes, in many cases agencies can charge fees that include staff time, but the rules depend on whether you are dealing with the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or a state public-records law, and on who is asking.

What agencies can charge for

Under the federal FOIA, allowable fees generally fall into three buckets:

• Search time — the staff effort spent locating responsive records.
• Review time — the work of examining records and applying exemptions or redactions (which can include attorney or subject-matter review).
• Duplication — the cost of copying or producing records.

So “staff time” and “attorney review” are not automatically off-limits. Whether they are billable, and at what point, depends on your requester category.

Requester categories matter

FOIA sorts requesters into categories that determine which fees apply:

• Commercial requesters can be charged for search, review, and duplication.
• Educational, noncommercial scientific, and news-media requesters generally pay only for duplication, often after a free page allowance.
• All other requesters typically pay for search and duplication, but not review time.

Review time, including legal review of exemptions, is usually billable only to commercial requesters. Agencies also commonly provide a baseline of free search time and free pages before any charges begin.

Fee waivers and limits

You can ask for a fee waiver if disclosure is in the public interest and not primarily for commercial benefit. Agencies also will not bill very small amounts, and they should tell you if anticipated fees will exceed what you have agreed to pay before incurring large costs.

State laws vary

This answer describes the federal FOIA. State public-records (or “sunshine”) laws differ significantly. Some states cap fees at the actual cost of copies, some allow charges for staff time after a set threshold, and many prohibit billing for legal review entirely. Always check the specific statute and the agency’s published fee schedule that govern your request.

When you receive a fee estimate, you can ask the agency to itemize it, narrow your request to reduce costs, or seek a waiver. For more guidance on the request process, see FOIA and public records.