GSA defines the following terms to ensure consistency of use and understanding of their meaning under this part:

Agency means any organization covered by the Privacy Act as defined in 5 U.S.C. 551(1) and 5 U.S.C. 552a (a)(1). GSA is such an agency.

Computer matching program means the computerized comparison of two or more Federal personnel or payroll systems of records, or systems of records used to establish or verify an individual's eligibility for Federal benefits or to recoup delinquent debts.

Disclosure of information means providing a record or the information in a record to someone other than the individual of record.

Exempt records means records exempted from access by an individual under the Privacy Act, subsections (j)(1), Central Intelligence Agency, (j)(2) and (k)(2), law enforcement, (k)(1), Section 552 (b)(1), (k)(3), protective services to the President,(k)(4), statistical records, (k)(5), employee background investigations, (k)(6), federal service disclosure, and (k)(7), promotion in armed services.

Individual means a citizen of the United States or a legal resident alien on whom GSA maintains Privacy Act records. An individual may be addressed as you when information is provided for the individual's use.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) means information about a person that contains some unique identifier, including but not limited to name or Social Security Number, from which the identity of the person can be determined. In OMB Circular M-06-19, the term “Personally Identifiable Information” is defined as any information about an individual maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and information which can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, such as their name, Social Security Number, date and place of birth, mother's maiden name, biometric records, including any other personal information which can be linked to an individual.

Record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual within a system of records which contains the individual's name or any other personal identifier such as number or symbol, fingerprint, voiceprint, or photograph. The information may relate to education, financial transactions, medical conditions, employment, or criminal history collected in connection with an individual's interaction with GSA.

Request for access means a request by an individual to obtain or review his or her record or information in the record.

Routine use means disclosure of a record outside GSA for the purpose for which it is intended, as specified in the systems of records notices.

Solicitation means a request by an officer or employee of GSA for an individual to provide information about himself or herself for a specified purpose.

System of records means a group of records from which information is retrieved by the name of an individual, or by any number, symbol, or other identifier assigned to that individual.

System manager means the GSA associate responsible for a system of records and the information in it, as noted in the Federal Register systems of records notices.