Judiciary Doubles Waiver For Access to Court Records
More than three-fourths of the people who access federal court records will no longer be asked to pay for the service.
The Judicial Conference recently doubled the quarterly fee waiver for users of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records system from $15 to $30. People who make less than $30 worth of requests through PACER each quarter will no longer be charged.
PACER provides instantaneous access to nearly every document filed in every federal court. The system has about 2.5 million registered users and contains more than a billion case documents.
No tax dollars are spent to run PACER. Access to case information costs 10 cents per page, for a maximum of $3 per document. Litigants receive a free electronic copy of case documents, and the public has unlimited access to case information at courthouses. Judges’ opinions are also available for free, and courts may exempt individuals or groups – including pro bono attorneys, academic researchers and nonprofit groups – from paying fees.
About 87% of PACER revenue comes from 2% of users, who are large financial institutions and major commercial enterprises that aggregate court data for analysis and resale to third parties.
The new fee waiver rate takes effect Jan. 1, 2020.
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