§ 425.4 Correction of records.

(a) An individual may request that a record or records pertaining to him or her be amended or corrected. Such requests shall be submitted in writing to the Administrative Officer at the Commission's business address.

(b) The signature of the requester will be sufficient identification for requesting correction of records.

(c) A request for amendment shall contain an exact description of the item or items sought to be amended and specific reasons for the requested amendment, as well as the individual's birthdate for purposes of verification of records.

(d) Within 10 working days after receipt of a request to amend a record, the Administrative Officer shall transmit to the requester a written acknowledgement of receipt of request. No acknowledgement is required if the request can be reviewed and processed with notification to the individual of compliance or denial within the ten-day period. Requester will be notified within 30 days whether or not his or her request has been granted.

(e) If the Administrative Officer determines that the requested amendment is appropriate to insure that the record is:

(1) Relevant and necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the records were collected; and

(2) As accurate, timely, and complete as are reasonably necessary to assure fairness to the requester, the Administrative Officer shall:

(i) Change the record accordingly;

(ii) Advise the requester that the change has been made, thirty days from receipt of written request;

(iii) After an accounting of disclosures has been kept pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(c), advise all previous recipients of the record, who, the Commission believes, still retain a copy thereof, of the fact that the amendment was made and the substance of the amendment.

(f) If, after review of the record, the Administrative Officer determines that the requested amendment is not in conformity with the requirements of the Act, he shall:

(1) Advise the requester in writing within thirty days of written request of such determination together with specific reasons therefor; and

(2) Inform the requester that further review of the request by the Director of the Commission is available if a written request therefor is made within 30 days after date of denial.

(g) Within 30 working days of receipt of a written request for review pursuant to § 425.4(f)(2) the Director shall make an independent review of the record, using the criteria of § 425.4(e) (1) and (2).

(1) If the Director determines that the record should be amended in accordance with the request, the Administrative Officer shall take the actions listed in § 425.4(e)(2) (i), (ii), and (iii).

(2) If the Director, after independent review, determines that the record should not be amended in accordance with the request, the Administrative Officer shall advise the requester:

(i) Of the determination and the reasons therefor;

(ii) Of his or her right to file with the Administrative Officer a concise statement of his or her reasons for disagreeing with the refusal to amend the record;

(iii) That the record will be annotated to indicate to anyone subsequently having access to it that a statement of disagreement has been filed, and that the statement will be made available to anyone to whom the record is disclosed;

(iv) That the Director and the Administrative Officer may, in their discretion, include a brief summary of their reasons for refusing to amend the record whenever such disclosure is made;

(v) That any prior recipients of this disputed record, who, the Commission believes, still retain a copy thereof, will be sent a copy of the statement of disagreement, after an accounting of disclosures has been kept pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(c);

(vi) Of his or her right to seek judicial review of the refusal to amend the record, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1)(A).

[40 FR 59187, Dec. 22, 1975]