Why do we charge a Service Fee?

To cover the real costs of handling your request so we can keep doing this work sustainably.

When an agency assesses fees on your FOIA request—or when a custom request requires extra handling—we add a Service Fee. Agency fees are set by the agency and passed through at cost. The Service Fee is separate and helps cover the operational work it takes to pay those fees and deliver your records.

What’s included in the Service Fee

• Payment processing on both sides (fees to receive your payment and to pay the agency’s portal)
• Server storage for large files
• Administrative time to manage the request
• Status updates and follow-ups with the agency
• Coordinating invoices and payments with you and the agency
• Processing, organizing, and uploading files for delivery

Why we need it

We tried operating without a Service Fee and consistently lost money on custom requests. Adding this fee lets us cover our costs and continue submitting, tracking, and delivering FOIA requests reliably.