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Bureau of the Census FOIA Office
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Category |
Chargeable
Service |
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1. Commercial Use Requesters |
Search, Review and Duplication |
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2. Educational and Non-commercial Scientific Institutions Requesters |
Duplication (excluding the cost of the first 100 pages) |
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3. Representative of the News Media |
Duplication (excluding the cost of the first 100 pages) |
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4. All Other Requesters |
Search and Duplication (excluding the cost of the first 2 hours of search and 100 pages) |
The Census Bureau, under 15 C.F.R. 4.11(c)(1) and (c)(2), applies the
following "Fee Schedule."
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Service |
Rate |
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(i) Manual Search |
Actual salary rate of employee involved, plus 16 percent of salary rate. |
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(ii) Computerized search |
Actual direct cost, including operator time. |
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(iii) Duplication of records: |
$.16 per page |
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(iii) Duplication of records: |
Actual direct cost, including operator time. |
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(iii) Duplication of records: |
Actual salary rate of employee conducting review, plus 16 percent of salary rate. |
Waiver or Reduction of Fees
Documents shall be furnished without charge, or at reduced charges 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 government, and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. 15 CFR § 4.11 (k)
For additional information on FOIA Fees go to: Sec 4.11 Fees (link to Government Printing Office website)
Response Time
Under FOIA, you have a right to a response within twenty business days excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The period begins on the day the request is actually received by the FOIA office which maintains the records requested. Census makes every effort to meet this time frame, however, under certain circumstances, this period may be extended up to 30 business days. Agencies are allowed an additional ten business days when: (1) they need to collect responsive records from field offices; (2) the request involves a "voluminous" amount of records which must be located, compiled, and reviewed; or (3) if an agency must consult with another agency which has a substantial interest in the responsive document. When an extension is needed, the requester may be notified and offered the opportunity to modify or limit their request.
Expedited Processing
You may be entitled to an expedited response of less than 20 days. A FOIA request may receive "expedited" treatment in cases where there is a threat to someone's life or physical safety; the requestor is primarily engaged in disseminating information and has established that the request is urgently needed to inform the public concerning some actual or alleged government activity; or where an individual will suffer the loss of substantial due process rights if the records are not processed on an expedited basis.
Appeals
You have the right to appeal a denial or
partial denial of the FOIA request. An appeal must be received within
30 calendar days of the date of the response letter by the Assistant General
Counsel for Administration (Office), Room 5898-C, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20230.
Your appeal may also be sent by e-mail to FOIAAppeals@doc.gov
or by facsimile (fax) to 202-482-2552. The appeal must include a copy
of the original request, the response to the request and a statement of the
reason why withheld records should be made available and why denial of the
records was in error. The submission (including e-mail and fax
submissions) is not complete without the required attachments. The
appeal letter, the envelope, the e-mail subject line, and the fax cover sheet
should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Act Appeal."
The e-mail, fax machine, and Office are monitored only on working days during
normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through
Friday). FOIA appeals posted to the e-mail box, fax machine or Office
after normal business hours will be deemed received on the next normal
business day.
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The letters PDF or symbol
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indicate
a document is in the Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Policy Office, FOIA and Information Branch
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