[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: 6CFR7.31]

[Page 41-42]
 
                       TITLE 6--HOMELAND SECURITY
 
   CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
 
PART 7_CLASSIFIED NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart B_Classified Information
 
Sec.  7.31  Mandatory review for declassification requests.

    (a) Any person may request that classified information be reviewed 
for declassification pursuant to the mandatory declassification review 
provisions of section 3.6 of Executive Order 12958, as amended. Such 
requests shall be sent to the Departmental Disclosure Officer, Privacy 
Office, 245 Murray Lane, SW., Building 410, Washington, DC 20528.
    (b) The request must sufficiently describe the document or material 
with enough specificity to allow it to be located by the component with 
a reasonable amount of effort. When the description of the information 
in the request is deficient, the component shall solicit as much 
additional identifying information as possible from the requester. If 
the information or material requested cannot be obtained with a 
reasonable amount of effort, the component shall provide the requester, 
through the DHS Disclosure Officer, with written notification of the 
reasons why no action will be taken and of the requester's right to 
appeal.
    (c) Requests for review of information that has been subjected to a 
declassification review request within the preceding two years shall not 
be processed. The DHS Disclosure Officer will notify the requester of 
such denial.
    (d) Requests for information exempted from search or review under 
sections 701, 702, or 703 of the National Security Act of 1947, as added 
and amended (50 U.S.C. 431 through 433), or other provisions of law, 
shall not be processed. The DHS Disclosure Officer will notify the 
requester of such denial.
    (e) If documents or material being reviewed for declassification 
under this section contain information that has been originally 
classified by another government agency, the reviewing authority shall 
notify the DHS Disclosure Officer. Unless the association of that

[[Page 42]]

organization with the requested information is itself classified, the 
DHS Disclosure Officer will then notify the requester of the referral.
    (f) A DHS component may refuse to confirm or deny the existence, or 
non-existence, of requested information when its existence or non-
existence, is properly classified.
    (g) DHS components shall make a final determination on the request 
as soon as practicable but within one year from receipt. When 
information cannot be declassified in its entirety, components shall 
make reasonable efforts to redact those portions that still meet the 
standards for classification and release those declassified portions of 
the requested information that constitute a coherent segment.
    (h) DHS components shall notify the DHS Disclosure Officer of the 
determination made in the processing of a mandatory review request. Such 
notification shall include the number of pages declassified in full; the 
number of pages declassified in part; and the number of pages where 
declassification was denied.
    (i) The DHS Disclosure Officer shall maintain a record of all 
mandatory review actions for reporting in accordance with applicable 
Federal requirements.
    (j) The mandatory declassification review system shall provide for 
administrative appeal in cases where the review results in the 
information remaining classified. The requester shall be notified of the 
results of the review and of the right to appeal the denial of 
declassification. To address such appeals, the DHS Disclosure Office 
shall convene a DHS Classification Appeals Panel (DHS/CAP). The DHS/CAP 
shall, at a minimum, consist of representatives from the Disclosure 
Office, the Office of Security, the Office of General Counsel, and a 
representative from the component having jurisdiction over the 
information. Additional members may be added as determined by the DHS 
Disclosure Officer. The DHS/CAP shall be chaired by the DHS Disclosure 
Officer.
    (k) If the requester files an appeal through the DHS/CAP, and the 
appeal is denied, the requester shall be notified of the right to appeal 
the denial to the ISCAP pursuant to section 5.3 of Executive Order 
12958, as amended, and the rules issued by the ISCAP pursuant to section 
5.3 of Executive Order 12958, as amended.