Frequently Asked Questions

Federal government agencies that wish to enter into an IAA for the use of PACER and payment of PACER fees incurred by its users should submit a 7600A Form and a 7600B Form to the PACER Service Center and acknowledge agreement to the PACER Policy and Procedures.  

When completing the 7600B Form, in addition to the other required fields, the requesting agency should select “Other” from the dropdown menu for Box 17 - Statutory Authority Fund Type Code.  The requesting agency also should input “28 U.S.C § 1913 (note)” in Box 19 - Statutory Authority Fund Type Citation.

If your agency requires additional or different documentation to establish an IAA for the use of and payment for the PACER service, the processing of the IAA may be delayed.  

Yes. Individuals working on defined research projects intended for scholarly work can request a PACER fee exemption from multiple courts. Each court reviews and approves requests at their discretion. Read more about this process and what form you need to complete to make a request.  

Yes. When a document link is accessed, the next screen will show the number of billable pages and the related cost. To accept the charges, click the View Document button. The PACER cost is $0.10 per page with a cap of $3 per document, except transcripts.

There are fees associated with filing a case in federal court, or for filing specific types of documents, but those are filing fees that apply whether the filing is done electronically through CM/ECF, or by filing with the court in paper.

Read about how PACER fees work on the Pricing page or in the Electronic Public Access Fee Schedule (Issued in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, 1932).
 

In 1988, the Judiciary sought appropriations from the U.S. Congress to provide electronic public access to court records. However, Congress did not provide the funds and instead directed the Judiciary to fund the initiative through user fees. As a result, the program relies exclusively on fee revenue.  

The Judicial Conference of the United States approved a measure in September 2019 stating that a user will not owe a fee unless their account accrues more than $30 of usage in a given quarter effective January 2020. If a user accrues $30 or less, those fees are waived for that quarter.  

Learn about how PACER fees work.

Yes. There is a fee for retrieving and distributing case information:  

• $30 per search (even if no results are returned), plus $0.10 per page per document delivered electronically, up to five documents. The $3 maximum (30-page cap) charged for any document applies. 

• If you want printed copies, the fee is $30 plus $0.50 per page (30-page cap does not apply) instead of $0.10 for electronic copies. 

• Search fees must be collected before any documents are delivered. 

• Get started with a request (pdf).

Learn about how PACER fees work.

Government agencies are not exempt from PACER fees. The fees are the same for all users. 

Learn about how PACER fees work. Learn how to set up an interagency agreement for PACER use.