[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR4.24]

[Page 44-45]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B--Privacy Act
 
Sec. 4.24  Procedures for making requests for records.

    (a) Any individual, regardless of age, who is a citizen of the 
United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence into 
the United States may submit a request to the Department for access to 
records. The request should be made either in person or by mail 
addressed to the appropriate office listed in Appendix A to this part.
    (b) Requests submitted by mail should include the words ``PRIVACY 
ACT REQUEST'' in capital letters at the top of the letter and on the 
face of the envelope. Any request which is not addressed as specified in 
paragraph (a) of this section or which is not marked as specified in 
this paragraph will be so addressed and marked by Department personnel 
and forwarded immediately to the responsible Privacy Officer. A request 
which is not properly addressed by the individual will not be deemed to 
have been ``received'' for purposes of measuring time periods for 
response until actual receipt by the Privacy Officer. In each instance 
when a request so forwarded is received, the Privacy Officer shall 
notify the individual that his or her request was improperly addressed 
and the date the request was received at the proper address.
    (c) If the request follows an inquiry under Sec. 4.23 in connection 
with which the individual's identity was established by the Department, 
the individual need only indicate the record to which access is sought, 
provide the Department control number assigned to the request, and sign 
and date the request. If the request is not preceded by an inquiry under 
Sec. 4.23, the procedures of this section should be followed.
    (d) The requirements for identification of individuals seeking 
access to records are:
    (1) In person. Each individual making a request in person shall be 
required to present satisfactory proof of identity. The means of proof, 
in the order of preference and priority, are:
    (i) A document bearing the individual's photograph (for example, 
driver's license, passport or military or civilian identification card);
    (ii) A document, preferably issued for participation in a Federally-
sponsored program, bearing the individual's signature (for example, 
unemployment insurance book, employer's identification card, national 
credit card, and professional, craft or union membership card); and,
    (iii) A document bearing neither the photograph nor the signature of 
the individual, preferably issued for participation in a Federally-
sponsored program (for example, Medicaid card). If the individual can 
provide no suitable documentation of identity, the Department will 
require a signed statement asserting the individual's identity and 
stipulating that the individual understands the penalty provision of 5 
U.S.C. 552a(i)(3) recited in Sec. 4.32(a). In order to avoid any 
unwarranted disclosure of an individual's records, the Department 
reserves the right to determine the adequacy of proof of identity 
offered by any individual, particularly if the request involves a 
sensitive record.
    (2) Not in person. If the individual making a request does not 
appear in person before a Privacy Officer or other employee authorized 
to determine identity, a certification of a notary public or equivalent 
officer empowered to administer oaths must accompany the request under 
the circumstances prescribed in Sec. 4.23(b)(9). The certification in or 
attached to the letter must be substantially in accordance with the 
following text:

City of ________ County of ________.ss (Name of individual), who affixed 
(his) (her) signature below in my presence, came before me, a (title), 
in and for the aforesaid County and State, this ____ day of ______, 
20__, and established (his) (her) identity to my satisfaction.
My commission expires ________.
(Signature)

    (3) Parents of minors and legal guardians. An individual acting as 
the parent of a minor or the legal guardian of the individual to whom a 
record pertains shall establish his or her personal identity in the same 
manner prescribed in

[[Page 45]]

either paragraph (d)(1) or (d)(2) of this section. In addition, such 
other individual shall establish his or her identity in the 
representative capacity of parent or legal guardian. In the case of the 
parent of a minor, the proof of identity shall be a certified or 
authenticated copy of the minor's birth certificate. In the case of a 
legal guardian of an individual who has been declared incompetent due to 
physical or mental incapacity or age by a court of competent 
jurisdiction, the proof of identity shall be a certified or 
authenticated copy of the court's order. For purposes of the Act, a 
parent or legal guardian may represent only a living individual, not a 
decedent. A parent or legal guardian may be accompanied during personal 
access to a record by another individual, provided the provisions of 
Sec. 4.25(f) are satisfied.
    (e) If the provisions of this subpart are alleged to impede an 
individual in exercising his or her right to access, the Department will 
consider, from an individual making a request, alternative suggestions 
regarding proof of identity and access to records.
    (f) An individual shall not be required to state a reason for or 
otherwise justify his or her request for access to a record.