{
 "topic": "FOIA section 6(a)",
 "statute": "5 ILCS 140/6(a)",
 "family": "Fees and electronic formats",
 "page": "https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-6-a/",
 "note": "Determination letters are non-binding. Verify against the source PDF before citing.",
 "counts": {
  "violation_found": 3,
  "no_violation": 7,
  "no_determination": 2,
  "other": 0
 },
 "challenge_notes": {
  "generated_by": "AI summary of the decisions listed on this page; not legal advice; verify each decision against its PDF",
  "when_a_challenge_is_strong": [
   {
    "text": "The public body charges a fee for providing electronic records that is higher than the actual cost of the recording medium, and no other statute expressly authorizes that fee.",
    "why": "Section 6(a) of FOIA limits fees for electronic copies to the actual cost of the recording medium (e.g., a flash drive) unless another statute specifically says otherwise. Administrative rules cannot increase these fees.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Police dashcam and body-camera footage of a traffic stop",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76612/#issue-3"
     },
     {
      "title": "Records on gating Griffith Cave and Natural Heritage Database access",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-49942/#issue-4"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The public body maintains the requested records electronically but refuses to provide them in the electronic format you requested.",
    "why": "When records are maintained electronically, section 6(a) requires the public body to furnish them in the requested electronic format.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "when_the_body_usually_wins": [
   {
    "text": "The public body only maintains the records in paper format, not electronically.",
    "why": "Section 6(a) does not require a public body to convert paper records to an electronic format; it only covers records already maintained electronically.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Bank statements and copying fees for paper records",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-91083/#issue-2"
     },
     {
      "title": "Election packets filed with a village clerk",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-74771/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Paper-only records requested in electronic format",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-59194/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "You did not specify an electronic format in your FOIA request, and the body provided paper copies.",
    "why": "If you fail to request a specific electronic format, the public body is not required to provide electronic copies and may give you paper copies, charging its usual paper copy fees.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Corporate franchise tax refund records and rule-amendment correspondence",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-55302/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Documents about a city's property acquisition for a Dollar General store",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-53612/#issue-4"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The public body redacted exempt information from a native electronic file before giving it to you, and you demand the unaltered original.",
    "why": "A public body may permissibly redact exempt information under section 7; it is not required to provide the unredacted native file.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Native digital files from Snap, Inc",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-88977/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Your request specified a recording medium (e.g., 'on a flash drive') but did not specify a file format, and the body provided the records on that medium.",
    "why": "A request for a flash drive identifies only a recording medium, not an electronic format. If the body gives you the medium you asked for, there is no violation.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "A sheriff's office video recording on a flash drive",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82657/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "points_to_put_in_the_letter": [
   {
    "text": "If the public body maintains records electronically, state that section 6(a) requires them to provide the records in the electronic format you requested.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If you were charged more than the cost of the recording medium for electronic copies, insist that FOIA limits fees to that actual cost unless another statute expressly authorizes a higher fee. Ask them to identify such a statute.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Police dashcam and body-camera footage of a traffic stop",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76612/#issue-3"
     },
     {
      "title": "Records on gating Griffith Cave and Natural Heritage Database access",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-49942/#issue-4"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If told that records exist only in paper, ask the public body to confirm whether any version of the records is maintained electronically (e.g., in email, databases, or digital files).",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Bank statements and copying fees for paper records",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-91083/#issue-2"
     },
     {
      "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If you did not specify an electronic format in your original request, you may submit a new FOIA request clearly naming the electronic format you want (e.g., PDF, Excel).",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Corporate franchise tax refund records and rule-amendment correspondence",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-55302/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "facts_to_gather": [
   "Whether the public body maintains the records in electronic form (for example, in an email inbox, a database, or a shared digital drive).",
   "The specific electronic format you requested (e.g., 'PDF', 'Excel', 'MP4').",
   "The amount of any copying fee charged and the actual cost of the recording medium (e.g., flash drive).",
   "Whether your FOIA request specified a preferred electronic format or only a medium (e.g., 'on a flash drive')."
  ],
  "common_mistakes": [
   {
    "text": "Failing to specify an electronic format in the FOIA request, then objecting to paper copies.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Corporate franchise tax refund records and rule-amendment correspondence",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-55302/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Documents about a city's property acquisition for a Dollar General store",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-53612/#issue-4"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Assuming the public body must convert paper-only records to electronic format upon request.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Bank statements and copying fees for paper records",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-91083/#issue-2"
     },
     {
      "title": "Election packets filed with a village clerk",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-74771/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Paper-only records requested in electronic format",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-59194/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Demanding the unredacted native file after the public body has permissibly redacted exempt information.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Native digital files from Snap, Inc",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-88977/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Accepting a fee higher than the cost of the medium because the public body points to an administrative rule, without confirming whether a statute expressly authorizes the fee.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Records on gating Griffith Cave and Natural Heritage Database access",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-49942/#issue-4"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "caution": "These determination letters are non-binding and outcomes depend on the specific facts of each request; always verify the actual PDF decisions before relying on them."
 },
 "issues": [
  {
   "issue": "Requirement to provide records in electronic format",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "Section 6(a) does not require a public body to furnish records in electronic format if the records are maintained solely in paper format.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Bank statements and copying fees for paper records",
    "date": "2025-12-24",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-91083/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697, issued April 18, 2014, at 2",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Native unaltered ZIP file with redactions",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A public body need not provide an unaltered native electronic file when it permissibly redacts exempt information under section 7.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Native digital files from Snap, Inc",
    "date": "2025-09-30",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-88977/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "People v. Garcia, 241 Ill. 2d 416, 421 (2011)",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Format of video recording on flash drive",
   "outcome": "no_determination",
   "rule": "A request for a flash drive identifies a recording medium, not an electronic format, but the body provided the video on a flash drive as requested, so no further action is taken.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A sheriff's office video recording on a flash drive",
    "date": "2024-10-09",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82657/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Charging $200 in fees for video recordings",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "FOIA allows only the actual cost of the recording medium for electronic records unless another statute expressly authorizes higher fees for electronic copies.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Police dashcam and body-camera footage of a traffic stop",
    "date": "2024-05-06",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76612/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Sage Information Services v. Humm, 2012 IL App (5th) 110580",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2012%20IL%20App%20(5th)%20110580/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Sage Information Services v. Suhr, 2014 IL App (2d) 130708",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2014%20IL%20App%20(2d)%20130708/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 31244",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-31244/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 39015",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 17989",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Format of records under section 6(a)",
   "outcome": "no_determination",
   "rule": "A public body must provide records in a requested electronic format only if it maintains them electronically; it need not convert paper records to electronic format.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Records concerning a specific property address",
    "date": "2023-07-20",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76410/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697, issued April 18, 2014",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Denial of electronic copies of election packets",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A public body need not provide records in electronic format if it maintains them only in paper format.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Election packets filed with a village clerk",
    "date": "2023-01-05",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-74771/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697, issued April 18, 2014",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Electronic copies of paper records",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "FOIA does not require a public body to provide electronic copies of records it maintains only in paper format.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Paper-only records requested in electronic format",
    "date": "2019-08-16",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-59194/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "People v. Jones, 223 Ill. 2d 569, 581 (2006)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "People v. Garcia, 241 Ill. 2d 416, 421 (2011)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Hites v. Waubonsee Community College, 2016 IL App (2d) 150836, 56 N.E.3d 1049, 1065 (2016)",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2016%20IL%20App%20(2d)%20150836/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Whether fee for paper copies violated FOIA when requester did not specify format",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A requester must specify the preferred electronic format at the time of request; otherwise, the public body may provide paper copies and charge applicable fees.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Corporate franchise tax refund records and rule-amendment correspondence",
    "date": "2019-03-01",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-55302/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Failure to provide electronic copies free of charge",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "Section 6(a) does not require electronic copies unless the request specifies an electronic format; the request did not.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Documents about a city's property acquisition for a Dollar General store",
    "date": "2019-01-08",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-53612/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Fees for electronic records from Natural Heritage Database",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "Fees for electronic records are limited to the cost of the electronic medium unless a statute expressly provides otherwise; administrative rules cannot supersede FOIA's fee provisions.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Records on gating Griffith Cave and Natural Heritage Database access",
    "date": "2018-10-30",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-49942/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Sage Information. Services v. Humm, 2012 IL App (5th) 110580, ¶ 18, 977 N. E. 2d 895, 900 (2012)",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2012%20IL%20App%20(5th)%20110580/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Sage Information Services v. Suhr, 2014 IL App (2d) 130708, ¶¶ 17- 20, 10 N.E.3d 241, 245- 46 (2014)",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2014%20IL%20App%20(2d)%20130708/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att' y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 17989, issued February 5, 2014, at 2",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Electronic format for records maintained electronically",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "A public body must provide records in the electronic format requested if it maintains those records electronically.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
    "date": "2017-05-02",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697, issued April 18, 2014",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Electronic format for records maintained only in hardcopy",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "Section 6(a) does not require a public body to furnish records electronically when they are maintained solely in paper format.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Municipal financial reports, budgets, and ordinances",
    "date": "2017-05-02",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-46913/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 28697, issued April 18, 2014",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  }
 ]
}