Office of Information Practices

U Memo 20-10
June 29, 2020
Fees Associated with Record Request

A member of the public appealed the fees charged by the City Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP-HON) for processing his request for copies of records pertaining to a complaint he filed.  OIP’s administrative rules at chapter 2-71, HAR, authorize agencies to charge search, review, and segregation (SRS) fees to process government record requests under the UIPA’s Part II, but no rules authorize agencies to charge SRS fees for personal record requests made under the UIPA’s Part III.   Requester made a personal record request under Part III, so DPP-HON was not authorized to charge SRS fees for his request.

Charges for copying and other costs governed by laws outside the UIPA do not violate the UIPA, and the copy fees assessed by DPP-HON appear to be lawful under section 92-21, HRS.  However, DPP-HON should not have charged a search fee set forth in a City ordinance for processing a record request, because fees for an agency’s time spent searching and otherwise processing a UIPA request are only allowed as set forth in chapter 2-71, HAR.