Your Right to Know: Don’t pay too much for that photocopy
Nov. 1, 2022
How much does it cost to copy one piece of paper? Many records custodians in Wisconsin charge 25 cents — a price that likely goes back to 2018 guidance from the attorney general that anything in excess of 25 cents may be suspect. But state law says custodians can only charge the “actual, necessary and direct cost of reproduction.”
In the most recent installment of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council's Your Right to Know column, council member Tom Kamenick, provides an overview of the law surrounding the cost of hard-copy public records and encourages requesters to push back the next time a custodian tries to charge them 25 cents per copy.
