Charges And Procedures For Payment

(1) Fees and charges for copies of public records should not hinder access to public records. Fees and charges for copies and duplicates will be waived in the following circumstances: (a) Where the copy and labor charges do not exceed $100.00; (b) When the copies are requested by another governmental entity within the State of Tennessee; (c) When an individual requestor establishes that he or she is indigent pursuant to federal poverty guidelines; ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHAPTER 0620-03-10 FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION (d) A request to take copies with personal equipment that meets the qualifications of rule 0620-03-10-.04(5) (2) The PRRC shall provide requestors with an itemized estimate of the charges prior to producing copies of records and may require pre-payment of such charges before retrieving and producing the requested records. The Department shall require the requesting party to provide full payment of the production costs before copies of the requested records are delivered or made available. Waivers of fees above $100.00 must be presented to the Deputy Commissioner of the Department, who is authorized to determine if such waiver is in the best interest of the Department and for the public good. (3) Fees and charges for copies are as follows (a) $0.15 per page for letter- and legal-size black and white copies. (b) $0.50 per page for letter- and legal-size color copies. (c) Hourly labor fees will be charged when employee time exceeds one hour in connection with production of documents. The Department will follow the Schedule of Reasonable Charges issued by the Office of Open Records Counsel effective January 20, 2017 (and any amendment to that schedule issued by that office) in calculating labor costs. (d) If an outside vendor is used, the actual costs assessed by the vendor. (e) If the requester asks for copies to be sent by mail or a delivery service, the charges for such mail or delivery service. (4) Payment is to be made in cash, or by cashiers’ check, payable to the Treasurer, State of Tennessee, and presented to the PRRC.