Section Library
Public Inspection
An organization must, during the three-year period beginning with the due date, make its Form 990 (or Form 990EZ) available for public inspection upon request. All parts of the return and all required schedules and attachments, other than the schedule of contributors to the organization, must be made available. Inspection must be permitted during regular business hours at the organization's principal office and at each of its regional district offices having three or more employees. This provision applies to any organization that files Form 990 (or Form 990EZ), regardless of the size of the organization and whether or not it has any paid employees.
If the organization does not maintain a permanent office, it must provide a reasonable location for the requestor to inspect the organization's annual returns. The organization may mail the information to a requestor. The organization can charge for copying and postage only if the requestor gives up the right to a free inspection.
Penalties for Non-Compliance: Any person who does not comply with the public inspection requirement shall be assessed a penalty of $10 for each day that the inspection was not permitted, up to a maximum of $5,000 with respect to any one return. No penalty will be imposed if the failure is due to reasonable cause. Any person who willfully fails to comply shall be subject to an additional penalty of $1,000.