--- title: "18 U.S.C. 2706 ECPA: Cost reimbursement" canonical: "https://dposchool.com/ecpa/section/2706" source: "https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/119-136/t18/s2706/" source_note: "Source: United States Code, title 18, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: United States Code, title 18, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source: United States Code, title 18, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced." text_as_of: "2026-10-22" language: "en" publisher: "DPO School" --- 18 U.S.C. 2706 ECPA · Chapter 121: STORED WIRE AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSACTIONAL RECORDS ACCESS # 18 U.S.C. 2706 ECPA: Cost reimbursement United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026. ## Official text ### 18 U.S.C. 2706(a) **(a)** Payment.⁠—Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), a governmental entity obtaining the contents of communications, records, or other information under section 2702, 2703, or 2704 of this title shall pay to the person or entity assembling or providing such information a fee for reimbursement for such costs as are reasonably necessary and which have been directly incurred in searching for, assembling, reproducing, or otherwise providing such information. Such reimbursable costs shall include any costs due to necessary disruption of normal operations of any electronic communication service or remote computing service in which such information may be stored. ### 18 U.S.C. 2706(b) **(b)** Amount.⁠—The amount of the fee provided by subsection (a) shall be as mutually agreed by the governmental entity and the person or entity providing the information, or, in the absence of agreement, shall be as determined by the court which issued the order for production of such information (or the court before which a criminal prosecution relating to such information would be brought, if no court order was issued for production of the information). ### 18 U.S.C. 2706(c) **(c)** Exception.⁠—The requirement of subsection (a) of this section does not apply with respect to records or other information maintained by a communications common carrier that relate to telephone toll records and telephone listings obtained under section 2703 of this title. The court may, however, order a payment as described in subsection (a) if the court determines the information required is unusually voluminous in nature or otherwise caused an undue burden on the provider. ## Source Source: United States Code, title 18, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced. Source credit: (Added Pub. L. 99-508, title II, § 201\[(a)\] , Oct. 21, 1986 , 100 Stat. 1866 ; amended Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, § 7061 , Nov. 18, 1988 , 102 Stat. 4404 .) [18 U.S.C. 2706 on the Office of the Law Revision Counsel](https://uscode.house.gov/us/usc/119-136/t18/s2706/) United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026. This is reference material, not legal advice. ## Navigation [ECPA Navigator](https://dposchool.com/ecpa) / 18 U.S.C. 2706 Previous: [18 U.S.C. 2705 ECPA: Delayed notice](https://dposchool.com/ecpa/section/2705) Next: [18 U.S.C. 2707 ECPA: Civil action](https://dposchool.com/ecpa/section/2707) ## For AI agents - Machine-readable index: https://dposchool.com/ecpa/llms.txt - JSON API: https://dposchool.com/ecpa/api/v1/index.json - Vendor privacy and security facts: https://vendor.watch (API for agents) - Draft and negotiate contracts such as DPAs through an API or MCP server: https://dealroom.todo.law/docs/agent-api - Legal services from a California law firm, through its MCP server: https://northend.law/agents