The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issued this regulation to comply with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552).

(a) The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552), is a Federal law that requires the Federal Government to disclose certain Federal Government records to the public.

(b) This part explains the rules that the FHFA will follow when processing and responding to requests for records under the FOIA. It also explains what you must do to request records from FHFA under the FOIA. You should read this part together with the FOIA, which explains in more detail your rights and the records FHFA may release to you.

(c) If you want to request information about yourself that is contained in a system of records maintained by FHFA, you may do so under the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). This is considered a first-party or Privacy Act request under the Privacy Act, and you must file your request following FHFA's Privacy Act regulation at part 1204 of this title. If you file a request for information about yourself, FHFA will process your request under both the FOIA and Privacy Act in order to give you the greatest degree of access to any responsive material.

(d) Notwithstanding the FOIA and this part, FHFA may routinely publish or disclose to the public information without following these procedures.