Fees and Fee Waivers

The Attorney General's manual starts its fee discussion with a sentence worth keeping in your pocket: "The concept of the law is that examination and copying of public records is part of the public business, already funded by taxpayers." Fees exist to recover the extra cost of large or complicated requests. They are not a profit center, and they are not a toll on asking. This lesson sets out each fee rule in the statute, shows how to check an estimate, and explains how the fee waiver works. Deadlines are in lesson 4.

What is free

Inspection itself is not a billable service in the statute. The right in 74-102(1) is to "examine and take a copy," and 74-102(2) adds the right to make photographs or other copies while the records are in the custodian's possession, using agency equipment or equipment the custodian designates. Nothing in the fee subsections authorizes a charge simply for looking at a record during office hours. Inspection may still involve labor the agency can count, such as retrieving boxes from storage or redacting before you look, and those hours fall under the same two-hour rule as any other labor.

For residents, 74-102(10)(a) sets the free floor: "no fee shall be charged for the first two (2) hours of labor in responding to a request submitted by a resident for public records, or for copying the first one hundred (100) pages of paper records that are requested by a resident." The exception at the start of that sentence matters: "Except for fees that are authorized or prescribed under other provisions of Idaho law." The AG manual gives recorders' fees and fees for court records as examples. A certified copy of a deed from the county recorder costs what the recording fee statutes say, not zero.

Who counts as a resident is in 74-101(15): domiciled in Idaho for at least 30 continuous days, excluding out-of-state full-time students, and including Idaho domestic entities. Since July 1, 2025, 74-102(4) says a request "shall" include a written declaration, under oath, of whether you are a resident. That declaration is how you claim the free hours and pages, so include it.

When an agency may charge, and how much

74-102(10)(b) lets an agency "establish fees to recover the actual labor and copying costs associated with locating and copying documents" if any one of three things is true: the request is for more than 100 pages of paper records; the request includes records from which nonpublic information must be deleted; or the actual labor exceeds two person hours. Each of those triggers fees. None of them cancels the free first two hours and first 100 pages in (10)(a) for a resident's request, which still apply.

Read carefully, the redaction trigger is the one that surprises people. A three-page request that needs a Social Security number blacked out can carry a fee under (b)(ii) even though it is far under 100 pages. Whether the free two hours of labor still apply before redaction time is billed is not spelled out in the trigger language. (10)(a) says no fee for the first two hours "in responding to a request submitted by a resident," with no exception for redaction, so the plain reading is that redaction labor counts toward the free two hours like any other labor. Ask the agency to show that credit in the itemized statement.

The rate caps

74-102(10)(e) sets three caps for residents:

• General labor: fees "shall not exceed reasonable labor costs necessarily incurred," must "reflect the personnel and quantity of time that are reasonably necessary," and are charged "at the per hour pay rate of the lowest paid administrative staff employee or public official of the public agency who is necessary and qualified to process the request."
• Staff attorney redaction: if redactions must be made by an attorney employed by the agency, no more than "the per hour rate of the lowest paid attorney within the public agency who is necessary and qualified."
• Outside attorney redaction: if the agency has no attorney on staff and redactions need an attorney, no more than "the usual and customary rate of the attorney who is retained by the public agency for that purpose."

Copying fees for residents "may not exceed the actual cost to the agency of copying the record if another fee is not otherwise provided by law" (10)(c). The AG's office has said a city may not pass an ordinance letting it charge more than the actual cost of reproduction (an AG legal guideline dated January 25, 1993, listed in the manual; it interpreted the older Title 9 version of the law, which used similar "otherwise provided by law" language).

The words "pay rate" matter. The cap is the employee's hourly pay rate. The statute does not mention adding benefits or overhead, and an agency that bills a clerk at a loaded rate well above the clerk's pay is at least open to the question of whether that is the "per hour pay rate."

Electronic records and conversion

For duplicates of a "computer tape, computer disc, microfilm or similar or analogous record system," 74-102(10)(d)(i) lets an agency charge residents a uniform fee no higher than the sum of three items: the direct cost of copying the information in that form; the standard cost, if any, of selling the same information as a publication; and the cost of conversion (by the agency or a third party) if the existing electronic record is converted to another electronic form. The AG manual calls the publication language "somewhat unclear" and reads it to mean an agency may offer an already printed publication and charge its standard price.

In practice, an email export to a PDF or a spreadsheet saved from an existing system costs very little to "copy." The real cost is usually labor to search and review, which falls under the labor rules. Lesson 7 covers electronic formats.

After-hours inspection, mailing and deposits

• After hours. Under 74-102(8), inspection happens during regular office hours unless the custodian authorizes other times; staff who supervise after-hours examination are paid "out of funds provided in advance by the person examining such records."
• Mailing. The AG manual (Question 14) says the law does not require an agency to send records, and does not prevent recovering actual mailing or telecommunications costs when a requester asks for mailing.
• Advance payment. 74-102(12): "The custodian may require advance payment of fees authorized by this section," and any advance payment above actual labor and copying costs "shall be returned to the requester."

Itemization

74-102(10)(h) is the requester's best tool for checking fees: statements "shall be itemized to show the per page costs for copies, and hourly rates of employees and attorneys involved in responding to the request, and the actual time spent." Then: "No lump sum costs shall be assigned to any public records request." Separate nonresident fees must be "separately identified."

Nonresidents since 2025

House Bill 253, signed April 4, 2025 and effective July 1, 2025 (Session Law chapter 298), changed fees as well as deadlines. Its statement of purpose said the fee schedule for nonresidents "would be allowed to be commensurate with actual costs of the agency from start to finish of request fulfillment." The current text:

• (10)(c): an agency may set separate copying fee schedules for residents and nonresidents.
• (10)(d)(ii): an agency may charge nonresidents additional fees, uniform to all nonresidents, for duplicating computer tapes, discs, microfilm and similar systems.
• (10)(g): "Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary," an agency may charge labor and copying for a person "who is not a resident or an employee of a resident," at rates "at the discretion of the public agency or public official as long as such fees do not exceed actual costs."

The free two hours and 100 pages in (10)(a) are written for residents, and the waiver in (10)(f) applies only when "the requester is a resident." So a nonresident should expect to pay for all work, at actual cost. Bonneville County's 2025 policy is a real example: for nonresidents "all time and materials" are subject to fees, including labor, copying, conversion, redaction and third-party costs, while residents get the free two hours and 100 pages and pay actual cost after that at the lowest qualified staff rate.

Notice who counts on the resident side for fees: (10)(g) applies to a person who is not a resident "or an employee of a resident." A reporter who lives out of state but works for an Idaho newspaper, or a staff member of an Idaho nonprofit corporation, falls outside the nonresident fee rule in (10)(g). The free two hours and 100 pages in (10)(a) are written for requests "submitted by a resident," so the cleanest course for such an employee is to submit the request in the name of the Idaho employer, which is itself a resident under 74-101(15).

Worked example: checking a fee estimate

Questions to put to any estimate: Is each line itemized with hours and rates? Is the labor rate the pay rate of the lowest-paid person who could do the task, or a supervisor's rate? Did the free two hours and 100 pages get credited? Is attorney time limited to work that needs an attorney (such as deciding privilege) instead of routine redaction a clerk could do? Would electronic delivery remove copy charges?

The fee waiver

74-102(10)(f) is mandatory in its wording: "The public agency shall not charge any cost or fee for copies or labor when the requester is a resident and demonstrates that the requester's examination and/or copying of public records":

1. "Is likely to contribute significantly to the public's understanding of the operations or activities of the government;"
2. "Is not primarily in the individual interest of the requester including, but not limited to, the requester's interest in litigation in which the requester is or may become a party; and"
3. "Will not occur if fees are charged because the requester has insufficient financial resources to pay such fees."

All three are joined by "and." A well-funded news organization may meet the first two easily and not the third. A resident fighting a neighbor's variance may meet the third and not the second. The AG manual (Question 16) describes the waiver as something agencies "are allowed" to grant; the statute's "shall not charge" is stronger, and the statute controls. The requester carries the burden to "demonstrate" each element, so the request has to make the case in writing.

Idaho's first condition tracks the federal FOIA fee waiver in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A)(iii), which turns on whether disclosure "is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government." The differences are telling: the federal test asks whether the request is primarily in the requester's commercial interest, while Idaho asks about the requester's individual interest, including litigation, and Idaho adds a third condition about ability to pay that the federal law does not have. Lesson 10 compares the two systems.

What helps a waiver request: name what in the records bears on how the agency operates (spending, a contract, a policy decision); say how the information will reach the public (a newsletter, a public comment, a website, testimony at a hearing, a published report); say plainly that you have no personal stake such as a pending lawsuit; and state, briefly and truthfully, that you cannot pay the estimated amount and would not pursue the request if charged. You do not have to explain why you want the records for any other purpose, and 74-102(5) still bars the custodian from asking about purpose generally; the waiver is the one place the requester chooses to explain.

Sample waiver language a resident might adapt:

I request a waiver of all fees under Idaho Code 74-102(10)(f). I am an Idaho resident (declaration attached). These records show how Cedar Bluff County awarded and amended its paving contract, which bears directly on the county's spending and operations. I will summarize what they show in a public comment at the county budget hearing and post the records on my neighborhood association's website. I am not a party to any litigation involving the county or the contractor and do not expect to be. I cannot pay the estimated $135.80 and would not pursue this request if that fee were charged. Please send a written decision on this waiver and, if it is denied, the itemized estimate required by 74-102(10)(h).

The fee rules in one table

Rule	Resident	Nonresident (not employed by a resident)	Where
First two hours of labor	Free	May be charged at actual cost	74-102(10)(a), (g)
First 100 pages of paper copies	Free	May be charged at actual cost	74-102(10)(a), (g)
Fees set by another Idaho law (e.g., recording fees)	Apply	Apply	74-102(10)(a)
When fees may start	Over 100 pages, redaction needed, or labor over 2 hours	Agency discretion	74-102(10)(b), (g)
Labor rate	Pay rate of lowest-paid qualified staff member	Up to actual cost	74-102(10)(e), (g)
Attorney redaction	Lowest-paid qualified staff attorney, or outside attorney's usual rate	Up to actual cost	74-102(10)(e), (g)
Copy charges	Not more than actual cost	Separate schedule allowed, up to actual cost	74-102(10)(c), (g)
Electronic media and conversion	Direct copy cost + publication price + conversion cost, uniform	Additional uniform fees allowed	74-102(10)(d)
Itemized statement, no lump sums	Required	Required, separately identified	74-102(10)(h)
Fee waiver	Mandatory if all three conditions shown	Not available under (10)(f)	74-102(10)(f)
Advance payment	May be required; excess refunded	Same	74-102(12)
Splitting requests to avoid fees	Related requests may be aggregated; unrelated ones may not	Same	74-102(11)

One more free right: under 74-113, a person may inspect and copy records about themselves even when they are otherwise exempt (with exceptions such as ongoing investigations). The fee rules still apply to copies, but the access right is broader.

The agency side deserves a fair hearing. Fees exist because large requests take real time from small staffs, and a county clerk who spends a week on a request is not doing payroll or elections that week. The Legislature's 2025 change to nonresident fees was explicitly about recovering costs from requesters outside the state. Agencies that publish a clear schedule, itemize carefully and offer narrowing help early are following the law as written, and requesters who respond quickly and narrow sensibly usually pay little or nothing.