Time and Cost
Under Georgia law, an agency may impose a reasonable charge for the search, redaction, and production or copying cost of records responsive to an Open Records Request. The time and cost will be calculated by using the hourly salary of the lowest paid employee qualified to conduct the research of an Open Records Request, with no charge for the first fifteen minutes of employee time expended.
In addition to charges for the search, redaction, and production of responsive records, the office will impose a fee for the copying of records or data at $.10 cents per page or, in the case of other documents, the actual cost of producing the copy. For electronic records, the office will charge the actual cost of the media on which the records or data are produced. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (c).
If the estimated cost for production of the records exceeds $500.00, the office will insist on pre-payment before the Open Records Officer begins search, retrieval, review, or production of the records. The office may require pre-payment for a new request if the requestor has not paid for a prior Open Records Request. O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71 (d).
For more information about Open Records Request please visit our Catalog and Student Handbook Open Records Request page.