[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 6, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 6CFR5.3]

[Page 7-8]
 
                       TITLE 6--HOMELAND SECURITY
 
   CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
 
PART 5_DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                  Subpart A_Freedom of Information Act
 
Sec.  5.3  Requirements for making requests.

    (a) How made and addressed. You may make a request for records of 
the Department by writing directly to the Department component that 
maintains those records. For additional information about the FOIA, you 
may refer directly to the statute. If you are making a request for 
records about yourself, see Sec.  5.21(d) for additional requirements. 
If you are making a request for records about another individual, either 
a written authorization signed by that individual permitting disclosure 
of those records to you or proof that that individual is deceased (for 
example, a copy of a death certificate or an obituary) must be 
submitted. Your request should be sent to the component's FOIA office at 
the address listed in appendix A to part 5. In most cases, your FOIA 
request should be sent to a component's central FOIA office. (The 
functions of each component are summarized elsewhere in this title and 
in the description of the Department and its components in the ``United 
States Government Manual,'' which is issued annually and is available in 
most libraries, as well as for sale from the Government Printing 
Office's Superintendent of Documents. This manual also can be accessed 
electronically at the Government Printing Office's World Wide Web site 
(which can be found at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su--docs).) If you 
cannot determine where within the Department to send your request, you 
may send it to the Departmental Disclosure Officer, Department of 
Homeland Security, Washington, DC 20528. That office will forward your 
request to the component(s) it believes most likely to have the records 
that you want. Your request will be considered received as of the date 
it is received by the proper component's FOIA office. For the quickest 
possible handling, you should mark both your request letter and the 
envelope ``Freedom of Information Act Request.''
    (b) Description of records sought. You must describe the records 
that you seek in enough detail to enable Department personnel to locate 
them with a reasonable amount of effort. Whenever possible, your request 
should include

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specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title 
or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the record. If known, 
you should include any file designations or descriptions for the records 
that you want. As a general rule, the more specific you are about the 
records or type of records that you want, the more likely the Department 
will be able to locate those records in response to your request. If a 
component determines that your request does not reasonably describe 
records, it shall tell you either what additional information is needed 
or why your request is otherwise insufficient. The component also shall 
give you an opportunity to discuss your request so that you may modify 
it to meet the requirements of this section. If your request does not 
reasonably describe the records you seek, the agency's response to your 
request may be delayed.
    (c) Agreement to pay fees. If you make a FOIA request, it shall be 
considered a firm commitment by you to pay all applicable fees charged 
under Sec.  5.11 up to $ 25.00, unless you seek a waiver of fees. In 
making your FOIA request, please indicate whether you are willing to pay 
for the request or desire a waiver. The component responsible for 
responding to your request ordinarily will confirm this commitment in an 
acknowledgement letter. When making a request, you may specify a 
willingness to pay a greater or lesser amount. If you are seeking a 
waiver of fees you must provide a justification for your fee waiver 
request in accordance with the requirements of Sec.  5.11(k). If your 
request for a fee waiver is denied, the component will notify you of 
that decision and will request an agreement from you to pay fees up to 
$25, or a greater or lesser amount specified by you. Your request shall 
not be considered received and further work shall not be done on it 
until you agree to pay fees. If you do not provide a firm commitment to 
pay the anticipated fee within the time period specified by the 
component, the request will be administratively closed.