Release of technical data under Freedom of Information Act: recovery of costs
10 U.S.C. § 3794
in effect(a) In General.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall, if required to release technical data under section 552 of title 5 (relating to the Freedom of Information Act), release such technical data to the person requesting the release if the person pays all reasonable costs attributable to search, duplication, and review. (2) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations, pursuant to notice and receipt of public comment, specifying a uniform schedule of fees under this section.
(b) Crediting of Receipts.—An amount received under this section—(1) shall be retained by the Department of Defense or the element of the Department of Defense receiving the amount; and (2) shall be merged with and available for the same purpose and the same time period as the appropriation from which the costs incurred in complying with requests for technical data were paid.
(c) Waiver.—The Secretary of Defense shall waive the payment of costs required by subsection (a) which are in an amount greater than the costs that would be required for such a release of information under section 552 of title 5 if—(1) the request is made by a citizen of the United States or a United States corporation, and such citizen or corporation certifies that the technical data requested is required to enable such citizen or corporation to submit an offer or determine whether it is capable of submitting an offer to provide the product to which the technical data relates to the United States or a contractor with the United States (except that the Secretary may require the citizen or corporation to pay a deposit in an amount equal to not more than the cost of complying with the request, to be refunded upon submission of an offer by the citizen or corporation); (2) the release of technical data is requested in order to comply with the terms of an international agreement; or (3) the Secretary determines, in accordance with section 552(a)(4)(A)(iii) of title 5, that such a waiver is in the interests of the United States.
Source: OLRC USLMURL: https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/95/xml_usc10@119-95.zipFetched: 6/3/2026