What Federal Court Records Cost to View or Copy via PACER

The Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule lists $0.10 per page (capped at $3.00, or 30 pages, per document) for PACER documents, $2.40 per audio file, and $30 per name or item searched through the PACER Service Center. The District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule separately lists $34 per search and $0.50 per page for paper copies. A third U.S. Courts page cites a $64 fee for retrieving a Federal Records Center document; that figure differs from the retrieval amounts on the district schedule, a discrepancy this article reports without resolving.

This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.

Key points

• The PACER electronic-access document fee is $0.10 per page, not to exceed the fee for thirty pages (Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule).
• The schedule says no fee is owed for PACER access to court data or audio files until an account holder accrues more than $30 in a quarterly billing cycle; it separately states that judicial opinions and courthouse public-access-terminal viewing carry no fee (Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule).
• The district court schedule lists $34 per records search and $0.50 per page for a paper reproduction (District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule).
• The district court schedule lists $70 for the first retrieved box, $43 for each additional box, and $11 for electronic retrieval; the Find a Case page separately quotes $64 to retrieve a Federal Records Center document (district schedule; Find a Case).

The PACER electronic-access fee schedule

The fees for accessing PACER and other federal court electronic systems come from the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule, which was “Published on: December 31, 2019” and became “Effective on: January 1, 2020” (U.S. Courts). It is “(Issued in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, 1932)” (U.S. Courts).

Under that schedule, viewing or downloading a document costs “$0.10 per page, not to exceed the fee for thirty pages” (U.S. Courts) — in practice, no single document can cost more than $3.00 to retrieve, no matter how long it is. A separate rate applies to audio recordings of court proceedings: “$2.40 per audio file” (U.S. Courts).

Running a search through the PACER Service Center — rather than a document lookup — is billed differently: “$30 per name or item searched” (U.S. Courts).

When PACER is free

The schedule sets a no-fee threshold: “No fee is owed for electronic access to court data or audio files via PACER until an account holder accrues charges of more than $30.00 in a quarterly billing cycle” (U.S. Courts).

Two categories of access are free regardless of volume. First, judicial opinions: “No fee is charged for access to judicial opinions” (U.S. Courts). Second, viewing at the courthouse itself: “No fee is charged for viewing case information or documents at courthouse public access terminals” (U.S. Courts).

The district court’s own fee schedule

A separate, later-dated document — the District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule — sets what a district court clerk’s office charges directly for records services, apart from PACER. It is “Effective on: December 1, 2023” (U.S. Courts).

Under this schedule, having a clerk’s office search its records costs “$34 per name or item searched” (U.S. Courts) — a different rate and a different service than the $30 PACER Service Center search above. Requesting a paper reproduction of a record costs “$.50 per page” (U.S. Courts), five times the per-page PACER electronic-document rate.

Retrieving records from off-site storage

The District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule lists these charges: “For retrieval of one box of records from a Federal Records Center, National Archives, or other storage location removed from the place of business of the court, $70. For retrievals involving multiple boxes, $43 for each additional box. For electronic retrievals, $11 plus any charges assessed by the Federal Records Center, National Archives, or other storage location removed from the place of business of the courts” (U.S. Courts).

Separately, the U.S. Courts’ “Find a Case (PACER)” guidance page states a different number for what appears to be a related service: “There is a $64 fee to retrieve a document for viewing that is from the Federal Records Center” (U.S. Courts). That $64 figure does not match the $70-per-box, $43-per-additional-box, or $11-electronic-retrieval amounts set in the District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule, and it does not appear in the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule either. This article reports both figures as they currently appear on uscourts.gov without resolving which one governs a specific retrieval.

What this article does not answer

This article does not determine which of the two governing fee schedules — Electronic Public Access or District Court Miscellaneous — actually controls the Federal Records Center document-viewing charge, given that the $64 figure on the “Find a Case (PACER)” page matches neither schedule’s stated retrieval fees. It does not address any discretionary fee exemption or waiver an individual reader, filer, or case type might qualify for. And it covers only the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule and the District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule — it does not cover fees under any other schedule, such as those for bankruptcy courts, appellate courts, or other miscellaneous fee categories not named here.

Source links

• U.S. Courts — Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule
• U.S. Courts — District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule
• U.S. Courts — Find a Case (PACER)