It still costs money to download documents from PACER, even though the Senate Judiciary Committee last week advanced a bipartisan bill that would eliminate those fees.
But one way you can reduce PACER fees is through the Free Law Project’s RECAP project, by which PACER users install a browser extension that automatically adds every document they purchase from PACER to an archive where that document is then free for anyone to view.
Until now, the RECAP app was available only as a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox. But now, RECAP has launched apps for iPhones, iPads and Macs.
The iPhone and iPad apps require the latest version 15 of the operating system, and the Mac version requires macOS 10.14 or later.
When you install the apps, any documents you purchase from PACER will be copied to the RECAP Archive, where they are fully searchable by anyone.
Everything in the RECAP Archive is also uploaded to the Internet Archive, where it has a lasting home. Free Law says the RECAP Archive contains millions of documents.
In addition, Free Law makes the RECAP Archive available via an API or as bulk data for journalists, researchers, startups, and developers.
