Under FOIA, agencies generally may not require advance payment of fees unless the requester previously failed to pay fees on time or the agency determines the fee will exceed $250.
Notes on verification
Directly confirmed by the FOIA statute text (5 U.S.C. §552(4)(v)) and corroborated by DOJ OIP guidance and CRS reports. [tier=bronze indep_score=0.539 clusters=2 claim_tier=notable]
Sources
- The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - National Archives (seed:conspiracy_and_investigation)
- https://www.foia.gov/foia-statute.html (corroboration)
- https://www.justice.gov/archives/oip/foia-guide-2004-edition-fees-and-fee-waivers (corroboration)