§  0.465   Request for copies of materials which are available, or made
available, for public inspection.

   (a) The Commission awards a contract to a commercial duplication firm
   to make copies of Commission records and offer them for sale to the
   public. In addition to the charge for copying, the contractor may
   charge a search fee for locating and retrieving the requested documents
   from the Commission's files.

   Note to paragraph ( a ): The name, address, telephone number, and
   schedule of fees for the current copy contractor are published at the
   time of contract award of renewal in a public notice and periodically
   thereafter. Current information is available at http://www.fcc.gov/foia
   and http://www.fcc.gov/cgb . Questions regarding this information
   should be directed to the Reference Information Center of the Consumer
   and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0270.

   (b)(1) Records routinely available for public inspection under § §  0.453
   and 0.455 are available to the public through the Commission's current
   copy contractor. Section 0.461 does not apply to such records.

   (2) Audio or video recordings or transcripts of Commission proceedings
   are available to the public through the Commission's current copy
   contractor. In some cases, only some of these formats may be available.

   (c)(1) Contractual arrangements which have been entered into with
   commercial firms, as described in this section, do not in any way limit
   the right of the public to inspect Commission records or to retrieve
   whatever information may be desired. Coin-operated and debit card copy
   machines are available for use by the public.

   (2) The Commission has reserved the right to make copies of its records
   for its own use or for the use of other agencies of the U.S.
   Government. When it serves the regulatory or financial interests of the
   U.S. Government, the Commission will make and furnish copies of its
   records free of charge. In other circumstances, however, if it should
   be necessary for the Commission to make and furnish copies of its
   records for the use of others, the fee for this service shall be ten
   cents ($0.10) per page or $5 per computer disk in addition to charges
   for staff time as provided in §  0.467. For copies prepared with other
   media, such as computer tapes, microfiche, videotape, the charge will
   be the actual direct cost including operator time. Requests for copying
   should be accompanied by a statement specifying the maximum copying fee
   the person making the request is prepared to pay. If the Commission
   estimates that copying charges are likely to exceed the greater of $25
   or the amount which the requester has indicated that he/she is prepared
   to pay, then it shall notify the requester of the estimated amount of
   fees. Such a notice shall offer the requester the opportunity to confer
   with Commission personnel with the object of revising or clarifying the
   request.

   Note to paragraph ( c )(2): The criterion considered in acting on a
   waiver request is whether “waiver or reduction of the fee is in the
   public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as
   primarily benefiting the general public.” 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(A). A
   request for a waiver or reduction of fees will be decided by the
   General Counsel as set forth in §  0.470(e).

   (3) Certified Documents. Copies of documents which are available or
   made available, for inspection under § §  0.451 through 0.465, will be
   prepared and certified, under seal, by the Secretary or his or her
   designee. Requests shall be in writing, specifying the exact documents,
   the number of copies desired, and the date on which they will be
   required. The request shall allow a reasonable time for the preparation
   and certification of copies. The fee for preparing copies shall be the
   same as that charged by the Commission as described in §  0.465(c)(2).
   The fee for certification shall be $10 for each document.

   (d)(1) Computer maintained databases produced by the Commission and
   available to the public may be obtained from the FCC's Web site at
   http://www.fcc.gov or if unavailable on the Commission's Web site, from
   the copy contractor.

   Note to paragraph ( d )(1): The Commission awards a contract to provide
   the public with access to FCC databases from the copy contractor. See
   note to paragraph (a) of this section.

   (2) Copies of computer generated data stored as paper printouts or
   electronic media and available to the public may also be obtained from
   the Commission's copy contractor (see paragraph (a) of this section).

   (3) Copies of computer source programs and associated documentation
   produced by the Commission and available to the public may be obtained
   from the Office of the Managing Director.

   (e) This section does not apply to records available on the
   Commission's Web site, http://www.fcc.gov , or printed publications
   which may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents or private
   firms (see § §  0.411 through 0.420), nor does it apply to application
   forms or information bulletins, which are prepared for the use and
   information of the public and are available upon request (see § §  0.421
   and 0.423) or on the Commission's Web site,
   http://www.fcc.gov/formpage.html .

   (f) Anyone requesting copies of documents pursuant to this section may
   either come in person to the Commission ( see §  0.460(a)) or request
   that the copy contractor fulfill the request. If a request goes
   directly to the contractor, the requester will be charged by the
   contractor pursuant to the price list set forth in the latest contract.

   [ 74 FR 14078 , Mar. 30, 2009, as amended at  76 FR 24389 , May 2, 2011]

   return arrow Back to Top