FOIA Document Source Pricing Policy
At FOIA Document Source, we offer transparent and competitive pricing for our comprehensive Custom FOIA request services. Here’s a breakdown of our fees:
- Requesting Fee: $149 per request (covers preparation, submission, and management)
- Agency Fees: Set by the agency and can range from $0 to thousands of dollars
- Service Fee: 15% of all agency fees (added and collected when those fees are billed)
More details below.
Requesting Fee
$149 per request
For a one-time fee, we process, submit, and manage your FOIA request to the appropriate agency. Our experienced team ensures that your request is accurately prepared and submitted promptly.
Additional Agency & Service Fees
Because agency fees vary greatly and are based on the number of hours it takes to search for and prepare requested documents, these fees are not included in the initial requesting fee. Any fees beyond this amount will be added to your final cost and may include:
- Search Fees: Costs associated with the time spent by the agency to locate the documents.
- Review/Redaction Fees: Fees for the agency’s efforts in reviewing and redacting sensitive information.
- Other Fees: Any additional charges imposed by the agency for processing your request.
Unless you specify a different limit at the time of your request, we set the auto-approval for agency fees at $150. Agency fees can range from $0 to thousands of dollars.
Once the fees exceed $150, the agency will notify us of the estimated charges, and we will seek your approval to proceed. You will be required to prepay the estimated amount to keep the request active.
Service Fee
We also charge a 15% service fee on all agency fees. This covers costs associated with credit card processing, check handling, and the administrative time required to manage large requests. Learn more about our Service Fee.
Example:
If an agency estimates fees of $500, your cost would be:
- Agency fee: $500
- Service fee (15%): $75
- Total: $575
Generally, if the agency fee is above the preset amount set at the time of request (our default is $149), we will receive an estimated agency fee a few weeks into the process. At that time we will send you an email and ask if you accept the fee. If yes, then we will invoice you for the agency fee plus the 15% service fee that time.