ShortChanged

A free public-interest tool published by Dr. Matthew S. Short

Got a bill for public records? Check their math.

Texas law caps what a governmental body can charge for records: 10 cents a page, $15 an hour for labor, 20 percent overhead, and nothing at all for deciding what to withhold. Most cost estimates break at least one rule. Transcribe theirs below; ShortChanged shows the lawful maximum, flags every violation with the statute that forbids it, and computes your deadlines on the calendar the law actually uses.

Don't get ShortChanged on public records. The Attorney General's cost model does arithmetic; this one audits.

  1. 1. Transcribe the estimate. Copy each line item from the letter into the worksheet.
  2. 2. Read the flags. Each violation is cited to Government Code ch. 552 or 1 TAC ch. 70.
  3. 3. Copy the audit summary. Paste it straight into your response or an AG cost complaint.
Their estimate
$
OAG lawful maximum for items entered
$0.00
Within OAG rates as entered
$0.00 under

A. The request

§552.261
Records are kept as
You asked for delivery as

Inspecting records in person is free except the photocopy cost of pages that must be redacted first. Asking for electronic delivery removes the 10-cent page rate entirely.

B. Copies and media

1 TAC §70.3(b), (c)
Standard paper pages × $0.10
Oversize pages (11 × 17) × $0.50
CDs × $1.00
DVDs × $3.00
USB or hard drive, actual cost $

C. Personnel time

1 TAC §70.3(d), (e)
Labor: locate, compile, redact, reproduce hrs × $15
Programming labor hrs × $28.50

Overhead is calculated for you at 20% of lawful labor. Redaction time is billable only when confidential material shares a page with public material being released.

D. Computer resource time

1 TAC §70.3(h)
PC or LAN hrs × $1.00
Client/server hrs × $2.20
Midsize computer min × $1.50
Mainframe min × $10

E. Delivery, deposit, and the letter's fine print

§§552.2615, 552.263, 552.271
Postage and shipping, actual $
Misc. supplies, actual $

F. Who they are, who you are

§§552.262, 552.275, 552.2661

These change which rules apply to you specifically. Most requestors can leave them all unchecked.

Your deadlines, on the statutory calendar

Date the estimate was sent
Date you learned of the charges

Respond to the estimate: enter the sent date above.

AG cost complaint: enter the learned date above.

Excludes weekends and the national and state holidays in §662.003(a) and (b). A body may also exclude observed weekend-holiday Fridays/Mondays, observed optional holidays, and up to 10 board-designated nonbusiness days per year (§552.0031); those can only move dates later, so the dates above are the earliest they can be. Verify designations.

Itemized statement at OAG rates

Lawful maximum$0.00

Audit summary

One click writes up the numbers, every flag with its citation, and your deadlines, ready to paste into a response letter or an AG cost complaint.

What $0.00 buys at OAG rates

Ask the body which of these its estimate represents:

  • 0.0 hours of staff labor, overhead included
  • 0.0 hours of programmer time, overhead included
  • 0 paper pages copied

Your rights and the paper trail you can demand

  • Your response counts the day you mail or email it, within 10 business days after the statement was sent. Accepting, narrowing, or sending notice of an AG cost complaint all keep the request alive. §552.2615(b), (f)
  • You may narrow or modify the request at any point before agreeing; a modification made in response to a deposit demand is treated as a fresh request received that day. §552.2615(b)(2); §552.263(e-1)
  • The estimate is a ceiling. If costs will run 20% or more past it, they must send an updated itemized statement first, and final charges cannot exceed the operative estimate by 20% or more. §552.2615(c), (d)
  • Demand the paper trail: the written statement of actual labor time (§552.261(b)) and the cost documentation the body was required to prepare before demanding any deposit, which is itself public information (§552.263(d)).
  • Overcharge complaints go to the AG's Cost Rules Administrator within 10 business days of learning of the overcharge. Bad-faith overcharges carry triple recovery. §552.269; 1 TAC §70.8
  • Ask for a waiver or reduction where release primarily benefits the general public. That request stays available even when a personnel-time limit applies. §552.267; §552.275(i)
  • If a body has adopted a personnel-time limit, it cannot be lower than 36 hours a fiscal year or 15 hours a month, and before charging you it must give written notice of the time already accrued plus a cost estimate. News gatherers are exempt from these charges entirely. §552.275(b), (d), (e), (j)
File complaints online: oag.my.site.com/OpenRecords · OAG Cost Hotline 1-888-672-6787 · Cost Rules Administrator 512-475-2497 · Official AG cost model

Free letter templates

Fill-in-the-blank documents built from a real Texas dispute, cited line by line. No email required, no signup, no charge. Every bracketed field is marked; delete the arguments that don't fit your letter.

1. Response to a cost estimate

Keeps your request alive. Accept, narrow, or give notice of a complaint, plus twelve optional objections keyed to the rule each one violates. Due within 10 business days.

Download the response letter (Word)

2. Attorney General cost complaint

Eight grounds, a lawful-maximum table, and the determinations to request. Filing with the AG is free and must happen within 10 business days of learning of the overcharge.

Download the AG complaint (Word)

How to use this, start to finish

  1. Audit the estimate. Transcribe their line items into the worksheet above. Read the flags, then click "Copy audit summary" to get the numbers, every violation with its citation, and your deadlines as plain text.
  2. Decide your path. Accepting the charges ends it. Narrowing the request moves records fastest. Filing a complaint challenges the charges. Narrowing and complaining together is usually strongest: it gets records moving while preserving the challenge.
  3. Fill in the templates. Paste your audit summary into your letter, replace the bracketed fields, and delete every objection that doesn't match what their letter actually says. Never assert a defect that isn't there; one bad point weakens the good ones.
  4. File the complaint first, if you're filing one. Go to oag.my.site.com/OpenRecords and choose the cost complaint option. Attach three things: your complaint, a copy of your original request, and a copy of the letter stating the charges. A complaint missing any of them is dismissed. Filing is free; if a page asks for payment, you are not on the Attorney General's site. Save the confirmation.
  5. Then email the governmental body the same day. Send your response letter to whoever signed the estimate, attaching the filed complaint. Your response is effective the day you send it, not the day they read it, so keep the sent copy with its timestamp.
  6. Watch for what comes back. The Attorney General puts written questions to the body, which must answer within 10 business days. A revised estimate starts a fresh 10-day clock, so run it through the auditor again.

If the portal fights you. A governmental body ID is an internal number you are not expected to know; use the lookup, or call the Cost Rules Administrator at 512-475-2497 or the Open Government Hotline at 877-673-6839. You can also file by mail to Cost Rules Administrator, Open Records Division, Office of the Attorney General, P.O. Box 12548, Austin, TX 78711-2548.

Texas public records charges, in plain English

What can a Texas governmental body charge for copies of public records?

The Attorney General sets the rates in 1 TAC chapter 70: 10 cents per standard page, $1 per CD, $3 per DVD, actual cost for a USB drive, $15 per hour for labor, $28.50 per hour for genuine programming, and overhead fixed at 20 percent of lawful labor. For 50 or fewer pages of paper records kept at one location, no labor or overhead may be charged at all.

Can they charge me to inspect records in person?

Generally no. For paper records, the only permissible inspection charge is the photocopy cost of a page that must be redacted before you see it, and the statute says no charge other than that photocopy cost may be imposed. Gov't Code §552.271(a), (b).

Can they bill for attorneys reviewing the records or deciding what to withhold?

No. The cost rules exclude any time spent by an attorney, legal assistant, or anyone else reviewing the requested information to determine whether exceptions apply or to prepare a ruling request. 1 TAC §70.3(d)(3). Only the mechanical act of redacting confidential material commingled on a page being released is billable, and never on requests of 50 or fewer pages.

When can they demand a deposit?

Only after sending a compliant itemized statement, only when the estimate exceeds $100 ($50 for very small bodies), and only after fully documenting the anticipated costs in advance. That documentation is itself public information you can request. Gov't Code §552.263(a), (d).

How long do I have to respond, and how are the days counted?

Ten business days after the date the statement is sent, and your response is effective the day you mail or email it, not the day they receive it. Business day is a defined term: weekends, national and state holidays, and a school district's board-designated nonbusiness days (capped at ten per year) do not count. Gov't Code §§552.2615(b), (f); 552.0031.

What if I think I am being overcharged?

File a cost complaint with the Attorney General's Cost Rules Administrator. It must be received within 10 business days of when you learned of the overcharge, and must include your complaint, the original request, and the correspondence stating the charges. The AG then puts written questions to the governmental body, which must answer within 10 business days. A requestor who overpays because a body refused to follow the rules can recover three times the overcharge if the body did not act in good faith. Gov't Code §552.269; 1 TAC §70.8.