The Attorney General of Texas 

April 8, 1980 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General 

Honorable George W. Strake, Jr. 

Secretary of State 

State Capitol 

Austin, Texas ‘787 11 

Dear Mr. Strake: 

OpiniOn No. ~p+lfj3 

Re: Fees charged by Secretary of 

State. 

You request our opinion advising you which statute or statutes 

prescribe the fees to be charged by your office in each of the following 

situations: 

la Furnishing uncertified copies of financing 

statements filed with the Secretary of State pursuant 

to Chapter 9 of the Texas Business and Commerce 

Code. 

lb Furnishing certified copies of the same. 

2a Furnishing uncertified copies of articles of 

incorporation filed with the Secretary of State 

pursuant to the Texas Business Corporation Act. 

2b Furnishing certified copies of the same. 

3a Furnishing uncertified copies of any agency 

record of the Secretary of State. 

3b Furnishing certified copies of the same. 

There are several statutes which establish fees to be collected by your 

office for furnishing documents. See e. 

Comm. Code SS 9.407(b); 35.06. -Tie 

V.T.C.S. arts. 3913, 3914; Bus. & 

e ecretary of State’s office is also 

subject to the Open Records Act, V.T.C.S. article 6252-Da, which states in 

section 9 that the cost of noncertified photocopies of public records shall 

not be excessive. It provides that the Board of Control shall publish cost 

figures to aid agencies in determining charges under the Act. However, 

where another statute sets a fee for providing a specific document to a 

member of the public, your office should charge the statutorily established 

fee and not use the fee schedule prepared by the Board of Control. Attorney 

p. 522 
Honorable George W. Strake, Jr. - Page Two (MI+163) 

General Opinion H-560 (1975) (fee schedule in article 3918, V.T.C.S., not repealed by Open 

Records Act). In case of conflict between a general provision and a specific provision 

dealing with the same subject, the specific provision prevails. Trinity Universal Insurance 

Company v. McLaughlin, 373 S.W.2d 66 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 19631, motion for 

rehear1 ‘ng overruled, 374 S.W.2d 350 (Tex. Civ. App. - Austin 1963). 

Your first question concerns furnishing uncertified copies of financing statements 

filed with your office pursuant to chapter 9 of the Texas Businem and Commerce Code. 

Section 9.407 of the Code provides as follows: 

(b) . . . Upon request the filing officer shall furnish a copy of any 

filed financing statement or statement of assignment for a uniform 

fee of $LOO per page, but not less than $5.00 per request 

concerning a debtor. 

This provision establishes a fee of one dollar per page for uncertified copies of financing 

statements. Article 3913, V.T.C.S., establishes charges for certified copies of records in 

your office. The charge is one dollar per page for copies by photo process, and SL50 per 

page for copies by another process. 

You next inquire about charges for articles of incorporation filed with your office 

pursuant to the Texas Business Corporation Act. In our opinion, the fees established by 

article 3913, V.T.C.S., apply to certified copies of articles of incorporation. Article 3914, 

V.T.C.S., establishes a fee of fifty cents per legal size page for copies of any paper, 

document, or record in your office. We believe this fee applies to uncertified copies of 

articles of incorporation on legal size paper. However, since article 3914, V.T.C.S., does 

not establish fees for uncertified copies on letter size paper, we believe you should charge 

for them the fees established by the Board of Control under the Open Records Act. 

Your third question concerns furnishing copies of records generated by or pertaining. 

to your office, in contrast to those filed there by members of the public. We believe 

article 3914, V.T.C.S., established the fees for uncertified copies of agency records on 

legal size paper. We believe the fee schedule established by the Board of Control under 

the Open Records Act would apply to letter size copies. We note finally that you may not 

charge other state agencies for copies of documents in your office which are required in 

the performance of their official duties. V.T.C.S. art. 3913. 

SUMMARY 

The Secretary of State should as a general matter charge the fees 

set by statute for furnishing copies of documents in this office 

rather than using the fee schedule prepared by the Board of Control 

pursuant to the Open Records Act. Article 3913, V.T.C.S., 

establishes the fees for certified copies of documents. Section 

9.407(b) of the Business and Commercial Code establishes the fee 

for an uncertified copy of a financing statement filed pursuant to 

P. 523 
Honorable George W. Strake, Jr. - Page Three (NN-163) 

that code. Article 3914, V.T.C.S., establishes the fee for 

uncertified copies of articles of incorporation and of your agency 

records on legal size paper. The fees established by the Board of 

Control should be charged for uncertified copies of these 

documents on letter size paper. 

ms 

MARK WHITE 

Attorney General of Texas 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

TED L. HARTLEY 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Susan Garrison 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

C. Robert Heath, Chairman 

Susan Garrison 

Rick Gilpin 

Terry Goodman 

Peter Nolan 

Bruce Youngblood 

P. 524