[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: 15CFR4.4]

[Page 31]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
PART 4--DISCLOSURE OF GOVERNMENT INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart A--Freedom of Information Act
 
Sec. 4.4  Requirements for making requests.

    (a) A request for records of the Department which are not 
customarily made available to the public as part of the Department's 
regular informational services must be in writing (and may be sent by 
mail, facsimile, or E-mail), and shall be processed under the FOIA, 
regardless whether the FOIA is mentioned in the request. Requests should 
be mailed to the Department component identified in Appendix A to this 
part that maintains those records, or may be sent by facsimile or E-mail 
to the numbers or addresses, respectively, listed at the Department's 
``FOIA Home Page'' link found at the Department's World Wide Web site 
(http://www.doc.gov).\1\ If the proper component cannot be determined, 
the request should be sent to the central facility identified in 
Appendix A to this part. The central facility will forward the request 
to the component(s) it believes most likely to have the requested 
records. For the quickest handling, the request (and envelope, if the 
request is mailed) should be marked ``Freedom of Information Act 
Request.''
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    \1\ The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is 
established as an agency of the United States within the Department of 
Commerce, operates under its own FOIA regulations at 37 CFR part 102, 
subpart A. Accordingly, requests for USPTO records should be sent 
directly to the USPTO.
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    (b) For requests for records about oneself, Sec. 4.24 contains 
additional requirements. For requests for records about another 
individual, either a written authorization signed by the individual 
permitting disclosure of his or her records to the requester or proof 
that the individual is deceased (for example, a copy of a death 
certificate or an obituary) facilitates processing the request.
    (c) The records requested must be described in enough detail to 
enable Department personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of 
effort. If possible, a request should include specific information about 
each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, 
and subject matter of the record, and the name and location of the 
office where the record is located. Also, if records about a court case 
are sought, the title of the case, the court in which the case was 
filed, and the nature of the case should be included. If known, any file 
designations or descriptions of the requested records should be 
included. In general, the more specifically the request describes the 
records sought, the greater the likelihood that the Department will be 
able to locate those records. If a component determines that a request 
does not reasonably describe records, it shall inform the requester what 
additional information is needed or how the request is otherwise 
insufficient, to enable the requester to modify the request to meet the 
requirements of this section.

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