Persons concerned, third parties and near relatives are exempted from fees. A small administrative fee is charged for the production of copies and for the number of copies made.
Petitions from public offices are processed free of charge. Private offices are generally obliged to pay fees.
Requests submitted by scholars and journalists conducting historical and political research are obliged to pay fees. Journalists and scholarly studies conducted on behalf of federal and state public offices are exempted from fees.
The legal basis for fees and expenses is provided by the Stasi Records Act (PDF, 842 KB, Datei ist barrierefrei ⁄ barrierearm) and Cost Ordinance (in German only). The specific charges are detailed in the List of Fees.
A. Fees
| No. | Fee Item | Amount due (€) |
| I. | Information and Notifications | |
| 1. | Written information to employees *) or beneficiaries (§§ 12, 16, 17 StUG) | |
| a) | Without previous viewing of records | 76,69 |
| b) | After previous viewing of records | 20,45 |
| 2. | Written notification to private agencies (§§ 19, 20, 21 StUG) | |
| a) | If records exist | 38,35 |
| b) | If records do not exist | 12,78 |
| II. | Viewing Records | |
| 1. | Viewing by employees *) or beneficiaries (§§ 12, 16, 17 StUG) | |
| a) | Viewing without previous receipt of written information | 76,69 |
| b) | Viewing after previous receipt of written information | 20,45 |
| 2. | Viewing by private agencies and for purposes of research (§§ 19, 20, 21, 32 StUG) | |
| a) | Viewing without previous receipt of written notification | 38,35 |
| b) | Viewing after previous receipt of written notification | 10,23 |
| 3. | Viewing by press, radio, film (§§ 33, 34 StUG) | 76,69 |
| III. | Release | |
| 1. | Release of copies to employees *) or beneficiaries (§§ 12, 16, 17 StUG) | |
| a) | Release without previous receipt of information and without viewing | 76,69 |
| b) | Release after viewing | 5,11 |
| 2. | Release of copies to affected persons, third parties and near relatives of missing or deceased persons (§§ 12, 13, 15 StUG) | 5,11 |
| 3. | Release of copies to private agencies and for purposes of research (§§ 19, 20, 21, 32 StUG) | |
| a) | Release without previous viewing | 10,23 |
| b) | Release after previous viewing | 5,11 |
| 4. | Release of copies to press, radio, film (§§ 33, 34 StUG) | |
| a) | Release without previous viewing | 76,69 |
| b) | Release after previous viewing | 38,35 |
Additional fees are charged in cases I to III.
B. Expenditure
| No. | Expenditure item | Amount due (€) |
| 1. | Production of copies to be released to | |
| a) | Affected persons, third parties and near relatives of missing or deceased persons (§§ 12, 13, 15 StUG) | Each DIN A4 paper copy – 0.03
Each DIN A3 paper copy - 0,05
Reproductions of filmed files per page – 0.08 |
| b) | Employee *), beneficiary (§§ 12, 16, 17 StUG)
Private agencies, research and media (§§ 19, 20, 21, 32, 33, 34 StUG) | Each DIN A4 paper copy - 0,10
Each DIN A3 paper copy – 0.15
Reproduction of filmed files per page – 0.26 |
| 2. | Production of copies or duplicates of other information carriers | payment in full |
| 3. | Cost for special packaging and transport | payment in full |
*) also valid for persons to whom the provisions regarding employees apply (§ 6 (5) StUG).
