U.S. Code » Title 44 » Chapter CHAPTER 21— NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

44 U.S.C. § 2116

Legal status of reproductions; official seal; fees for copies and reproductions

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(a) When records that are required by statute to be retained indefinitely have been reproduced by photographic, microphotographic, digital, or other processes, in accordance with standards established by the Archivist the indefinite retention by the photographic, microphotographic, digital, or other reproductions constitutes compliance with the statutory requirement for the indefinite retention of the original records. The reproductions, as well as reproductions made under regulations to carry out chapter 21, 29, 31, and 33 of this title, shall have the same legal status as the originals.(b) There shall be an official seal for the National Archives of the United States which shall be judicially noticed. When a copy or reproduction, furnished under this section, is authenticated by the official seal and certified by the Archivist, the copy or reproduction shall be admitted in evidence equally with the original from which it was made.(c) The Archivist may charge a fee set to recover the costs for making or authenticating copies or reproductions of materials transferred to the Archivist’s custody. Such fee shall be fixed by the Archivist at a level which will recover, so far as practicable, all elements of such costs, and may, in the Archivist’s discretion, include increments for the estimated replacement cost of equipment. Such fees shall be paid into, administered, and expended as a part of the National Archives Trust Fund. The Archivist may not charge for making or authenticating copies or reproductions of materials for official use by the United States Government unless appropriations available to the Archivist for this purpose are insufficient to cover the cost of performing the work.(Pub. L. 90–620, Oct. 22, 1968, 82 Stat. 1291, § 2112; Pub. L. 94–575, § 4(b), Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2727; renumbered § 2116 and amended Pub. L. 98–497, title I, §§ 102(a)(1), 107(a)(9), title II, § 201, Oct. 19, 1984, 98 Stat. 2280, 2286, 2292; Pub. L. 113–187, §§ 3(d), 8(1), Nov. 26, 2014, 128 Stat. 2008, 2011.)Historical and Revision Notes

Based on 44 U.S. Code, 1964 ed., § 399 (June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title V, § 509, as added Sept. 5, 1950, ch. 849, § 6(d), 64 Stat. 583).

Editorial NotesAmendments

2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–187, § 3(d), inserted “digital,” after “microphotographic,” in two places.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–187, § 8(1), substituted “the Archivist’s custody” for “his custody”.

1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–497, § 107(a)(9)(A), substituted “Archivist” for “Administrator of General Services”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–497, § 107(a)(9)(B), substituted “Archivist” for “Administrator”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 98–497, § 201, substituted provisions transferring functions from Administrator of General Services to Archivist of the United States, further substituted provisions relating to permissible fee charges for former provisions which set a fee not in excess of 10 percent above costs and expenses for making copies, inserted “unless appropriations available to the Archivist for this purpose are insufficient to cover the cost of performing the work”, and struck out provision that reimbursement may be accepted to cover cost of furnishing copies or reproductions that could not otherwise be furnished.

1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–575 inserted reference to chapter 33 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1984 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–497 effective Apr. 1, 1985, see section 301 of Pub. L. 98–497, set out as a note under section 2102 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1990–2018 · leading case: Carl Oglesby v. The United States Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57 (D.C. Cir. 1990).
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Carl Oglesby v. The United States Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57 (D.C. Cir. 1990). “NARA argued on appeal that its own fee statute, 44 U.S.C. § 2116 (c), supersedes the fee waiver provisions in the FOIA, § 552(a)(4)(A).”
Carl Oglesby v. The United States Dep't of the Army, 79 F.3d 1172 (D.C. Cir. 1996). “44 U.S.C. § 2116 (c) (“NARA § 2116”). In response to NARA’s claim of exemption, Oglesby argues that NARA’s fee provision does not meet the requirements for exemption under subsection (vi) of FOIA’s fee provision because NARA § 2116 “neither provides a set formula for the…”
Yanofsky v. U.S. Dep't of Com., 306 F. Supp. 3d 292 (D.C. Cir. 2018). · cites it 2× “]" 44 U.S.C. § 2116 (c). Oglesby maintained that this statute did not displace the FOIA's fee-setting provisions, because it did not "provide[ ] a set formula for the imposition of fees [or] mandate[ ] the assessment of fees[,]" Oglesby , 79 F.”
Kutler, Stanley I. v. Carlin, John W., 139 F.3d 237 (D.C. Cir. 1998). “Under 44 U.S.C. § 2116 (a) (1994), the Archivist can satisfy a requirement to retain an original document or tape by means of a copy of the original tape or document.”
Yanofsky v. Dep't of Com. (D.D.C. 2018). “The NARA statute expressly authorized the Archivist “to recover the costs for making or authenticating copies or reproductions of materials transferred to [his] custody[,]” and the statute further stated that “[s]uch fee shall be fixed .”
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