§ 1.27 Procedures for amendment of records pertaining to individuals—Format, agency review, and appeal from initial adverse agency determination.

(a) In general. Subject to the application of exemptions Treasury promulgated in accordance with § 1.23(c), and subject to paragraph (f) of this section, each component of the Department of the Treasury must, in conformance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(2), permit an individual to request amendment of a record pertaining to such individual. Any request for amendment of records or any appeal that does not fully comply with the requirements of this section and any additional specific requirements imposed by the component in the applicable appendix to this subpart will not be deemed subject to the time constraints of paragraph (e) of this section, unless and until the request is amended to meet all requirements. However, components will advise the requester in what respect the request or appeal is non-compliant so that it may be resubmitted or amended. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).)

(b) Form of request to amend records. In order to be subject to the provisions of this section, a request to amend records must:

(1) Be made in writing and signed by the individual making the request, who must be the individual about whom the record is maintained, or the duly authorized representative of such individual;

(2) State that it is made under the Privacy Act or the regulations in this subpart, with “Privacy Act Amendment Request” written on both the request and on the envelope;

(3) Be addressed to the office or officer of the component specified for such purposes in “Privacy Act Issuances” published by the Office of the Federal Register and referenced in the appendices to this subpart for that purpose; and

(4) Reasonably describe the records which the individual believes require amendment, including, to the best of the requester's knowledge, dates of previous letters the requester sent to the component seeking access to their records and dates of letters in which the component provided notification to the requester concerning access, if any, and the individual's documentation justifying the proposed correction. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).)

(c) Date of receipt of request. For purposes of this subpart, the date of receipt of a request for amendment of records must be the date on which the requester satisfies all the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section. The receiving office or officer must stamp or otherwise endorse the date of receipt of the request. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).)

(d) Review of requests to amend records. Officials responsible for review of requests to amend records pertaining to an individual, as specified in the appropriate appendix to this subpart, must:

(1) Not later than 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the date of receipt of such request, acknowledge in writing such receipt; and

(2) Promptly, either—

(i) Make any correction to any portion which the individual believes, and the official agrees is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete; or

(ii) Inform the individual of the refusal to amend the record in accordance with the individual's request, the reason for the refusal, and the name and business address of the officer designated in the applicable appendix to this subpart, as the person who is to review such refusal. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).).

(e) Administrative appeal —

(1) In general. Each component must permit individuals to request a review of initial decisions made under paragraph (d) of this section when an individual disagrees with a refusal to amend the record. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d), (f), and (g)(1).)

(2) Form of request for administrative review of refusal to amend record. At any time within 35 days after the date of the notification of the initial decision described in paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section, the requester may submit an administrative appeal from such refusal to the official specified in the notification of the initial decision and the appropriate appendix to this subpart. The appeal must:

(i) Be made in writing, stating any arguments in support thereof and be signed by the requester to whom the record pertains, or the duly authorized representative of such individual;

(ii) Be addressed and mailed or hand delivered within 35 days of the date of the initial decision to the office or officer specified in the appropriate appendix to this subpart and in the notification. (See the appendices to this subpart for the address to which appeals made by mail should be addressed.);

(iii) Be clearly marked “Privacy Act Amendment Appeal” on the appeal and on the envelope;

(iv) Reasonably describe the records the individual seeks to amend; and

(v) Specify the date of the initial request to amend records, and the date of the component's letter providing notification that the request was denied. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).)

(3) Date of receipt. Promptly stamp or endorse appeals with the date of their receipt by the office to which the appeal is addressed. Such stamped or endorsed date will be deemed to be the date of receipt for all purposes of this subpart. The responsible official in the office to which the appeal was addressed must acknowledge receipt of the appeal within 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) from the date of the receipt (unless the determination on appeal is dispatched in 10 days, in which case, no acknowledgement is required). The letter acknowledging receipt of the appeal must advise the requester of the date of receipt established by the foregoing and the number of days the responsible official has to decide the administrative appeal (including days included/not included in determining the deadline). (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d) and (f).)

(4) Review of administrative appeals from denial of requests to amend records. Officials responsible for deciding administrative appeals from denials of requests to amend records pertaining to an individual, as specified in the appendices to this subpart must: Complete the review and notify the requester of the final agency decision within 30 days (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) after the date of receipt of such appeal, unless the time is extended by the head of the agency or the delegate of such official, for good cause shown. If the final agency decision is to refuse to amend the record, in whole or in part, the requester must also be advised of the reasons the appeal was denied and their right—

(i) To file a concise “Statement of Disagreement” (including the procedures for filing this statement) setting forth the reasons they disagree with the final agency decision; and/or

(ii) To judicial review of the final agency decision refusing to amend the record(s) (under 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(1)(A)). (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d), (f), and (g)(1).)

(5) Notation on record and distribution of statements of disagreement. The system manager is responsible, in any disclosure containing information about which an individual has filed a “Statement of Disagreement”, occurring after the filing of the statement under paragraph (e)(4) of this section, for clearly noting any portion of the record which is disputed and providing copies of the statement and, if deemed appropriate, a concise statement of the component's reasons for not making the amendments requested to persons or other agencies to whom the disputed record has been disclosed. (See 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(4).)

(f) Records not subject to correction under the Privacy Act. The following records are not subject to correction or amendment by individuals:

(1) Transcripts or written statements made under oath;

(2) Transcripts of Grand Jury proceedings, judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings which form the official record of those proceedings;

(3) Pre-sentence reports comprising the property of the courts but maintained in agency files;

(4) Records pertaining to the determination, the collection, and the payment of the Federal taxes;

(5) Records duly exempted from correction by notice published in the Federal Register; and

(6) Records compiled in reasonable anticipation of a civil action or proceeding.