Fees associated with public records are for copies of the records. State Agencies are required to comply with the Uniform Fee Schedule for Copies of Public Records, which can be found in Section 301 of Title 4, Part I of the Louisiana Administrative Code and on the Division of Administration’s website.
Political Subdivisions, however, are not required to utilize this schedule and may choose to establish a reasonable fee of their choosing.
Clerks of Courts should follow the fee schedules established by statute.
A public entity may not charge a fee for inspection of public records. Further the Attorney General (AG) has noted that an entity may not recoup costs incurred in the original creation of the record or based on the value of the record or its contents. See AG Op. No. 15-0056.
The AG in AG Op. No. 11-0210 has noted that a custodian of public records must provide copies of public records in the format in which they are kept and maintained by the entity. If the custodian possesses a record in the requested format then the record should be provided in that format. A custodian is not required to convert a public record into a requested format (i.e. pdf, doc, etc.) if the record is not created, used, or maintained in that format. Printed copies of records may be obtained for a reasonable fee.
Louisiana Legislative Auditor website: 05/01/2024 06:33:00 PM
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