How should a researcher word a FOIA request to qualify for the educational or scientific fee category?

Under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the fees an agency may charge depend on which requester category you fall into. The educational and scientific categories are favorable: qualifying requesters pay only duplication costs (often with a free page allowance) and are not charged search or review fees. To be placed in one of these categories, your request letter has to do more than ask for records — it has to explain who you are and why you want them.

What the categories actually require

An agency will not assume your purpose. It evaluates the request you submit. For the educational and scientific categories, the records generally must be sought for scholarly or research purposes, not for commercial use or personal benefit, and the request should show that the information will be used to contribute to public understanding rather than to advance a private interest.

How to word the request

State your category and your purpose plainly and early. Useful elements to include:

• Affiliation. Identify the educational institution, research organization, or scientific body you are connected to (for example, a university, department, or accredited program), and your role.
• Scholarly or research purpose. Describe the specific study, course, publication, or scientific inquiry the records support — not a vague interest.
• Non-commercial use. Affirm that the records are not sought for commercial use and will not be used to advance a private commercial interest.
• Dissemination. Note how findings will reach the public — a thesis, article, dataset, or report.

A sample sentence: “I request these records for noncommercial scholarly research as part of [project] at [institution], and I qualify for the educational-institution fee category.”

Practical tips

Keep your records description specific so the agency can locate documents efficiently. You may also separately request a fee waiver (a distinct test focused on public interest), and you can state a fee ceiling. The agency generally has 20 business days to respond, and it — not the requester — makes the final category determination, so document your eligibility clearly.

State and local public-records laws use different fee rules and categories, so check the specific statute that applies.

For broader guidance, see FOIA and public records.