36 CFR 1250.52 – What fee policies apply to operational records?
(a) For operational records, we may charge search fees even if the records are not releasable or we do not find any responsive records during our search.
(b) If you are a noncommercial FOIA requester entitled to receive 100 free pages, but the records cannot be copied onto standard-sized (8.5? by 11?) photocopy paper, we copy them on larger paper and reduce the copy fee by the normal charge for 100 standard-sized photocopies. If the records are not on textual media (e.g., they are photographs or electronic files), we provide the equivalent of 100 pages of standard-sized paper copies for free.
(c) We do not charge you any fee if the total cost for processing your request is $25 or less.
(d) If estimated search or review fees exceed $50, we will contact you. If you have specified a different limit that you are willing to spend, we will contact you only if we estimate the fees will exceed that specified amount.