Cost Estimation

FOIA Requesters may be charged a nominal amount for the processing of their Requests, including search, duplication and review costs (Review costs include only direct costs incurred during the examination of a document for determining if it is a responsive record.) Estimating the effort to fulfill requests prior to completion is known as Cost Estimation. The cost for processing a Request can be estimated while the Request is in any Request Status where the Request is open. These costs are estimated using Cost Sheets.

Formats

Standard vs. DD Form 2086

You can estimate the cost in two formats: Standard or DD Form 2086.

• In the Standard format, the Request cost estimate is flexible.

• The DD Form 2086 cost estimate is prepared in a specific reproducible format.

Create a Cost Sheet in Standard Format

1. Open a Request for which you want to estimate the cost.

2. Click Fees/Billing. The Fees/Billing screen displays as shown below.
   
   

3. From the Cost Sheets section, click New. The New Cost Sheet screen displays as shown below.
   
   

4. Enter information in the following fields as necessary:

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter the Name of the New Cost Sheet in the upper right corner.
   Unit Rate	Enter the Unit Rate for each Fee Item (if they have not been added in the Requester Types form).
   Quantity	Enter a Quantity for each Fee Item. Quantity refers to number of hours, pages, copies, etc. for each Fee Item.

5. Click Save. A verification message displays as shown below.
   
   

6. Click OK. A confirmation message displays as shown below.
   
   

7. Click OK.

(!!) Notes:

If the Requester has applied for a fee waiver, information about the fee waiver type displays on the Cost Estimation screen.

If there is a change in the fee structure, it will be applied only to new invoices. Existing invoices will always be displayed with their original fee structure.

Create a Cost Sheet in DD Form 2086 Format

1. Open a Request for which you want to estimate the cost.

2. Click Fees/Billing. The Fees/Billing screen displays as shown below.
   
   

3. From the Cost Sheets section, click New Form 2086. The New Form 2086 screen displays as shown below.
   
   

4. Enter information in the following fields as necessary:

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter the Name of the New Cost Sheet in the upper right corner.
   Quantity	Enter a Quantity for each Fee Item. Quantity refers to number of hours, pages, copies, etc. for each Fee Item.
   Unit Rate	Enter the Unit Rate for each Fee Item (if they have not been added in the Requester Types form).

5. Click Save. A verification message displays as shown below.
   
   

6. Click OK to save changes. A confirmation message displays as shown below.
   
   

7. Click OK.

Steps to Generate DD Form 2086

1. From the Cost Sheets section of the Fees/Billing screen, select the cost sheet for which you'd like to create Form 2086, and click View Form 2086.
   
   

2. The DD Form 2086 screen displays as shown below.
   
   

3. The generated Form 2086 is similar to the initial Form 2086, however, you cannot edit any values on the generated version, as it is exclusively for viewing and printing purposes

(!!) Note: If there is a change in the fee structure, it will be applied only to new invoices. Existing invoices will always be displayed with their original fee structure.