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May an agency require prepayment for compliance with an Open Records Act request?

The opinion of the Attorney General is that prepayment may not be required for an agency to comply with the Open Records Act.  An agency's obligations under the Act are automatic and set by law; the law makes no provision allowing an agency to condition its compliance on prepayment.

An agency does have the right to collect for its proper costs in collecting and producing records, however.  It may proceed directly to collection measures, with the need for a prior court adjudication, if costs are not paid.

In situations where costs are sought by an agency, it must estimate the costs and notify the requestor in writing of the estimated cost within three business days of receipt of the request.  Such notice gives the requestor the opportunity to modify or withdraw his or her request if he or she does not wish to incur the charges.  Ordinarily, the agency need not begin immediately collecting such records unless and until it knows the requestor agrees to the costs.