[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: 15CFR4.25]

[Page 45-47]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart B--Privacy Act
 
Sec. 4.25  Disclosure of requested records to individuals.

    (a)(1) The responsible Privacy Officer shall act promptly upon each 
request. Every effort will be made to respond within ten working days 
(i.e., excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal public holidays) of the 
date of receipt. If a response cannot be made within ten working days 
due to unusual circumstances, the Privacy Officer shall send an 
acknowledgment during that period providing information on the status of 
the request and asking for any further information that may be necessary 
to process the request. ``Unusual circumstances'' shall include 
circumstances in which:
    (i) A search for and collection of requested records from inactive 
storage, field facilities or other establishments is required;
    (ii) A voluminous amount of data is involved;
    (iii) Information on other individuals must be separated or expunged 
from the particular record; or
    (iv) Consultations with other agencies having a substantial interest 
in the determination of the request are necessary.
    (2) If the Privacy Officer fails to send an acknowledgment within 
ten working days, as provided in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the 
requester may ask the Assistant General Counsel for Administration to 
take corrective action. No failure of a Privacy Officer to send an 
acknowledgment shall confer administrative finality for purposes of 
judicial review.
    (b) Grant of access: (1) Notification. An individual shall be 
granted access to a record pertaining to him or her, unless the 
provisions of paragraph (g)(1) of this section apply. The Privacy 
Officer shall notify the individual of a determination to grant access, 
and provide the following information:
    (i) The methods of access, as set forth in paragraph (b)(2) of this 
section;
    (ii) The place at which the record may be inspected;
    (iii) The earliest date on which the record may be inspected and the 
period of time that the records will remain available for inspection. In 
no event shall the earliest date be later than thirty calendar days from 
the date of notification;
    (iv) The estimated date by which a copy of the record will be mailed 
and the fee estimate pursuant to Sec. 4.31. In no event shall the 
estimated date be later than thirty calendar days from the date of 
notification;
    (v) The fact that the individual, if he or she wishes, may be 
accompanied by another individual during personal access, subject to the 
procedures set forth in paragraph (f) of this section; and,
    (vi) Any additional prerequisites for granting access to a specific 
record.
    (2) Methods of access. The following methods of access to records by 
an individual may be available depending on the circumstances of a given 
situation:
    (i) Inspection in person may be had in the office specified by the 
Privacy Officer granting access, during the hours indicated in Appendix 
A to this part;

[[Page 46]]

    (ii) Transfer of records to a Federal facility more convenient to 
the individual may be arranged, but only if the Privacy Officer 
determines that a suitable facility is available, that the individual's 
access can be properly supervised at that facility, and that transmittal 
of the records to that facility will not unduly interfere with 
operations of the Department or involve unreasonable costs, in terms of 
both money and manpower; and,
    (iii) Copies may be mailed at the request of the individual, subject 
to payment of the fees prescribed in Sec. 4.31. The Department, at its 
own initiative, may elect to provide a copy by mail, in which case no 
fee will be charged the individual.
    (c) Access to medical records is governed by the provisions of 
Sec. 4.26.
    (d) The Department shall supply such other information and 
assistance at the time of access as to make the record intelligible to 
the individual.
    (e) The Department reserves the right to limit access to copies and 
abstracts of original records, rather than the original records. This 
election would be appropriate, for example, when the record is in an 
automated data medium such as tape or disc, when the record contains 
information on other individuals, and when deletion of information is 
permissible under exemptions (for example, 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2)). In no 
event shall original records of the Department be made available to the 
individual except under the immediate supervision of the Privacy Officer 
or his or her designee.
    (f) Any individual who requests access to a record pertaining to 
that individual may be accompanied by another individual of his or her 
choice. ``Accompanied'' includes discussing the record in the presence 
of the other individual. The individual to whom the record pertains 
shall authorize the presence of the other individual in writing. The 
authorization shall include the name of the other individual, a specific 
description of the record to which access is sought, the Department 
control number assigned to the request, the date, and the signature of 
the individual to whom the record pertains. The other individual shall 
sign the authorization in the presence of the Privacy Officer. An 
individual shall not be required to state a reason or otherwise justify 
his or her decision to be accompanied by another individual during 
personal access to a record.
    (g) Initial denial of access: (1) Grounds. Access by an individual 
to a record that pertains to that individual will be denied only upon a 
determination by the Privacy Officer that:
    (i) The record is exempt under Sec. 4.33 or 4.34, or exempt by 
determination of another agency publishing notice of the system of 
records, as described in Sec. 4.23(f);
    (ii) The record is information compiled in reasonable anticipation 
of a civil action or proceeding;
    (iii) The provisions of Sec. 4.26 pertaining to medical records 
temporarily have been invoked; or,
    (iv) The individual unreasonably has failed to comply with the 
procedural requirements of this part.
    (2) Notification. The Privacy Officer shall give notice of denial of 
access to records to the individual in writing, and the notice shall 
include the following information:
    (i) The Privacy Officer's name and title or position;
    (ii) The date of the denial;
    (iii) The reasons for the denial, including citation to the 
appropriate section of the Act and this part;
    (iv) The individual's opportunities, if any, for further 
administrative consideration, including the identity and address of the 
responsible official. If no further administrative consideration within 
the Department is available, the notice shall state that the denial is 
administratively final; and,
    (v) If stated to be administratively final within the Department, 
the individual's right to judicial review provided under 5 
U.S.C.552a(g)(1), as limited by 5 U.S.C. 552a(g)(5).
    (3) Administrative review. If a Privacy Officer issues an initial 
denial of a request, the individual's opportunities for further 
consideration shall be as follows:
    (i) As to denial under paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this section, two 
opportunities for further consideration are available in the 
alternative:
    (A) If the individual contests the application of an exemption to 
the

[[Page 47]]

records, the review procedures in Sec. 4.25(g)(3)(ii) shall apply; or,
    (B) If the individual challenges the validity of the exemption 
itself, the individual must file a petition for the issuance, amendment, 
or repeal of a rule under 5 U.S.C. 553(e). If the exemption was 
determined by the Department, such petition shall be filed with the 
Assistant Secretary for Administration. If the exemption was determined 
by another agency (as described in Sec. 4.23(f)), the Department will 
provide the individual with the name and address of the other agency and 
any relief sought by the individual shall be that provided by the 
regulations of the other agency. Within the Department, no such denial 
is administratively final until such a petition has been filed by the 
individual and disposed of on the merits by the Assistant Secretary for 
Administration.
    (ii) As to denial under paragraphs (g)(1)(ii) of this section, 
(g)(1)(iv) of this section or (to the limited extent provided in 
paragraph (g)(3)(i)(A) of this section) paragraph (g)(1)(i) of this 
section, the individual may file for review with the Assistant General 
Counsel for Administration, as indicated in the Privacy Officer's 
initial denial notification. The individual and the Department shall 
follow the procedures in Sec. 4.28 to the maximum extent practicable.
    (iii) As to denial under paragraph (g)(1)(iii) of this section, no 
further administrative consideration within the Department is available 
because the denial is not administratively final until expiration of the 
time period indicated in Sec. 4.26(a).
    (h) If a request is partially granted and partially denied, the 
Privacy Officer shall follow the appropriate procedures of this section 
as to the records within the grant and the records within the denial.