[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 3]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR612.3]

[Page 121-122]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER VI--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
 
PART 612_AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 612.3  Requirements for making requests.

    (a) Where to send a request. You may make a FOIA request for records 
of the National Science Foundation by writing directly to the FOIA 
Officer, Office of the General Counsel, National Science Foundation, 
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1265, Arlington, VA 22230. For records 
maintained by the NSF Office of the Inspector General (OIG), you may 
write directly to the Office of Inspector General, National Science 
Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1135, Arlington, VA 22230. The 
FOIA Officer will also forward requests for OIG records to that Office. 
Requests may also be sent by facsimile to (703) 306-0149 or by e-mail to 
foia@nsf.gov.
    (b) Form of request. A FOIA request need not be in any particular 
format, but it must be in writing, include the requester's name and 
mailing address, and be clearly identified both on the envelope and in 
the letter, or in a facsimile or electronic mail message as a Freedom of 
Information Act or ``FOIA'' request. It must describe the records sought 
with sufficient specificity to permit identification, and include 
agreement to pay applicable fees as described in Sec. 612.10. NSF is 
not obligated to act upon a request until it meets these procedural 
requirements.
    (c)(1) If you are making a request for records about yourself and 
the records are not contained in a Privacy Act system of records, your 
request will be processed only under the FOIA, since the Privacy Act 
does not apply. If the records about you are contained in a Privacy Act 
system of records, NSF will respond with information on how to make a 
Privacy Act request (see NSF Privacy Act regulations at 45 CFR 613.2).
    (2) If you are making a request for personal information about 
another individual, either a written authorization signed by that 
individual in accordance with Sec. 613.2(f) of this chapter permitting 
disclosure of those records to you, or proof that that individual is 
deceased (for example, a copy of a death certificate or a published 
obituary) will help the agency process your request.
    (d) Description of records sought. Your request must describe the 
records that you seek in enough detail to enable NSF personnel to locate 
them with a reasonable amount of effort. A record must have been created 
or obtained by NSF and under the control of NSF at the time of the 
request to be subject to the FOIA. NSF has no obligation under the FOIA 
to create, compile or obtain a record to satisfy a FOIA request. 
Whenever possible, your request should include specific descriptive 
information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, 
author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. As a general rule, 
the more specific you are about the records or type of records that you 
want, the more likely the Foundation will be able to locate those 
records in response to your request, and the more likely fees will be 
reduced or eliminated. If NSF determines that your request does not 
reasonably describe records, you will be advised what additional 
information is needed

[[Page 122]]

to perfect your request or why your request is otherwise insufficient.
    (e) Agreement to pay fees. Your request must state that you will 
promptly pay the total fees chargeable under this regulation or set a 
maximum amount you are willing to pay. NSF does not charge if fees total 
less than $25.00. If you seek a waiver of fees, please see Sec. 
612.10(k) for a discussion of the factors you must address. If you place 
an inadequate limit on the amount you will pay, or have failed to make 
payments for previous requests, NSF may require advance payment (see 
Sec. 612.10(i)).
    (f) Receipt date. A request that meets the requirements of this 
section will be considered received on the date it is received by the 
Office of the General Counsel or the Office of the Inspector General. In 
determining which records are responsive to a FOIA request, the 
Foundation will include only records in its possession as of the close 
of business (5:00pm) on the date of receipt.
    (g) Publications excluded. For the purpose of public requests for 
records the term ``record'' does not include publications which are 
available to the public in the Federal Register, or by sale or free 
distribution. Such publications may be obtained from the Government 
Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, the NSF 
Publications Clearinghouse PO Box 218, Jessup, MD 20794-0218, or through 
NSF's Home Page on the World Wide Web at  
``Documents.'' Requests for such publications will be referred to or the 
requester informed of the appropriate source.