Fee Schedule

Per the state of Washington's Public Records Act, 42.56 RCW, agencies may charge to recover the actual cost of making and providing copies of records when fulfilling requests. The City's fee framework is outlined in Multidepartmental Administrative Rule Public Disclosure Fees — MDAR 17-0001.

Note that the City does not charge for inspecting public records. For large requests, the City may:

  • Require a deposit of up to 10 percent of the estimated cost before making copies.
  • Provide copies in installments.
  • Require payment before providing further installments.

Delivery method / materials

Description

Cost

Online delivery through Public Records Request Center There are three steps where charges may be incurred for receiving records through the PRRC:
  1. A charge for uploading digital records (audio, electronic, documents, photo, video) to the system; fee is determined by electronic file size.
  2. Charge per minute of staff time to attach records to a response (minimum two minutes of staff time).
  3. Charge of staff time for each increment of 25 attachments to release records to the customer.
Cost for each step:
  1. Record less than 1 GB = $.02 (minimum fee); Record exceeds 1 GB = $.09 per GB
  2. $.41 per minute
  3. $.41 per minute
Discs Records are copied to optical storage devices such as CD or DVD. $1 per disc
Paper copies A per-page charge for hard copies of requested records. B&W or color.
8 ½  x 11; 8 ½ x 14; 11 x 17; double-sided or single-sided.
$.15 per page
Scans A per-page charge for converting a record from a paper copy to an electronic format. $.10 per page
Flash drives and other formats Customer can request records be delivered on a flash, thumb, USB and other portable storage devices. Actual cost
Outside vendor Outside vendors can be used for unusual formats, large quantities or when a requestor asks for delivery of copies faster than City can process. Actual cost
Postage If a customer requests records be delivered by U.S. Postal Service. Actual cost (based on weight)
Mailing materials Material to package records for mailing:
Any size manila envelope. $.45
Disc protector (cardboard, jewel case, etc.) $.50

Public Records

Mailing Address: PO Box 94726, Seattle, WA, 98124-4726
Phone: Customer Service Bureau (206) 684-2489
itd_cpra@seattle.gov
Public Records Request Center

In the interest of transparency and responsibility to all residents, taxpayers and other constituents, the City of Seattle aims to make the process of obtaining public records as easy as possible.