How Much Can Institutions Charge for CRA Public File Access?

Banks can charge you for copies of their Community Reinvestment Act public file, but only a reasonable fee that does not exceed the bank’s actual cost of copying and mailing the documents. Inspecting the file in person costs nothing. The regulations set no per-page dollar amount, so the ceiling is whatever the bank actually spends on paper, toner, and postage to fulfill your request.

Free to Inspect, At-Cost to Copy

The rule splits access into two things. Looking at the file is one; taking copies home is the other.

Walking into a bank and reviewing the public file on the spot is free. The regulation requires the file to be made available for inspection “upon request and at no cost.”¹ If the bank has a website, the required public file information must also be posted online, which means you can read the whole thing from home without paying or asking anyone.² The CRA link is usually in the site footer or a compliance section.

Copies are where a charge can enter the picture. The bank is allowed to recover what it actually spends to reproduce the documents and send them to you, and nothing more.

What “Reasonable Fee” Actually Means

The regulation permits a reasonable fee for copies that does not exceed the bank’s actual cost of copying and mailing.² In plain terms, the bank can pass along paper, toner, and postage. It cannot mark those costs up, and it cannot add a service or handling fee on top.

No specific per-page rate appears anywhere in the rule. A bank in a high-cost area might spend slightly more per page than a small rural institution, and both can charge accordingly, but each must stay within its real reproduction expenses. If an invoice reads more like a deterrent than a reimbursement, the bank has gone past what the regulation allows.

You can also cut the mailing side of the bill to zero. If you request copies in digital form and the bank can provide them electronically, the mailing charge does not apply.³ Asking for an emailed PDF instead of a paper packet is the simplest way to keep the total low.

Fees a Bank Cannot Charge

A bank cannot charge you anything to look at the file. That means no access fee, no research fee, no retrieval fee, no appointment fee. The only permissible charge is for copies you actually take with you.

A bank also cannot set its copy prices in a way that discourages people from asking. Pricing a community group out of getting the documents is not just poor service; it works against the purpose of the CRA, and examiners look at exactly this kind of thing during reviews.

Where the File Lives and How Fast You Get It

Banks without a website must keep the complete file at the main office. Interstate banks must keep a full copy at one branch in each state where they operate. Every branch has to have at least two items on hand: the public section of the bank’s most recent CRA performance evaluation, and a list of services offered at that branch.¹

If you visit a branch and want the rest of the public file information for that branch’s local assessment area, the bank has five calendar days to provide it.² The rule does not fix a deadline for mailed copy requests, but banks are expected to respond promptly.

You should also see a CRA notice posted in the lobby. At a main office it describes your right to review branch information, services, the CRA evaluation, and public comments. At a branch it is shorter, confirming your right to see the evaluation and branch service list, with other materials available within five calendar days.⁴ A missing notice is itself a compliance problem.

What the File Contains

The fee question only matters if you know what you are paying for. A typical public file includes written comments from the community about the bank’s lending and service, along with the bank’s responses; the public section of the most recent CRA performance evaluation; a list of branches with addresses and census tracts, plus openings and closings; loan and deposit products, transaction fees, and branch hours; and maps of the bank’s CRA assessment areas. Banks generally retain three years of this material, updated by April 1 each year, with public comments refreshed quarterly.²

If you only need one piece, say the performance evaluation, ask for that piece. A smaller request means a smaller invoice.

If You Think You Are Being Overcharged

There is no dedicated fine or refund process for public file fees. The pressure on banks runs through the examination system instead. Examiners review whether the bank maintains a complete and accessible public file, look at any complaints about access, and check that the lobby notices are posted correctly.⁵ A pattern of overcharging or delay can feed into a lower CRA rating, and CRA ratings affect the bank’s ability to open branches, relocate offices, and complete mergers.⁶

Practically, that means the productive move is to push back at the bank first, in writing, citing the “actual cost of copying and mailing” language. If that fails, the bank’s federal regulator, the OCC, the Federal Reserve, or the FDIC depending on charter type, is the place to raise it.

One boundary worth flagging: in October 2023 the three agencies jointly finalized a modernization of the CRA rules, that rule was blocked by a federal court in Texas, and in March 2025 the agencies proposed to rescind it entirely.⁷ The public file fee rules described here are the same under both the 1995 and 2023 frameworks, so the outcome of that rescission does not change what a bank can charge you.