22 C.F.R. § 1101.13 – Agency review of request to correct or amend a record.

(a) (1) Not later than ten (10) days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) after receipt of a request to correct or amend a record, the PA Officer shall send an acknowledgment providing an estimate of time within which action will be taken on the request and asking for such further information as may be necessary to process the request. The estimate of time may take into account unusual circumstances as described in § 1101.7(a). No acknowledgment will be sent if the request can be reviewed, processed and the individual notified of the results of review (either compliance or denial) within ten (10) days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays). Requests filed in person will be acknowledged in writing at the time submitted.
(2) Promptly after acknowledging receipt of a request, or after receiving such further information as might have been requested, or after arriving at a decision within ten (10) days, the PA Officer shall either:
1. (i) Make the requested correction or amendment and advise the individual in writing of such action, providing either a copy of the corrected or amended record or a statement as to the means whereby the correction or amendment was effected in cases where a copy cannot be provided (for example, erasure of information from a record maintained only in an electronic data bank); or
2. (ii) Inform the individual in writing that his or her request is denied and provide the following information:
  1. (A) The PA Officer's name, title and position;
  2. (B) The date of denial;
  3. (C) The reasons for the denial, including citation to the appropriate sections of the Act and these rules;
  4. (D) The procedures for appeal of the denial as set forth in § 1101.14.
    The term promptly in this paragraph means within thirty (30) days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays). If the PA Officer cannot make the determination within thirty (30) days, the individual will be advised in writing of the reason therefor and of the estimated date by which the determination will be made.
  5. (b) Whenever an individual's record is corrected or amended pursuant to a request by that individual, the PA Officer shall notify all persons and agencies to which copies of the record had been disclosed prior to its correction or amendment, if an accounting of such disclosure required by the Act was made. The notification shall require a receipt agency maintaining the record to acknowledge receipt of the notification, to correct or amend the record, and to apprise any agency or person to which it has disclosed the record of the substance of the correction or amendment.
  6. (c) The following criteria will be considered by the PA Officer in reviewing a request for correction or amendment.
    1. (1) The sufficiency of the evidence submitted by the individual;
    2. (2) The factual accuracy of the information;
    3. (3) The relevance and necessity of the information in terms of purpose for which it was collected.
    4. (4) The timeliness and currency of the information in light of the purpose for which it was collected;
    5. (5) The completeness of the information in terms of the purpose for which it was collected;
    6. (6) The degree of possibility that denial of the request could unfairly result in determinations adverse to the individual;
    7. (7) The character of the record sought to be corrected or amended; and
    8. (8) The propriety and feasibility of complying with the specific means of correction or amendment requested by the individual.
  7. (d) The Section will not undertake to gather evidence for the individual, but does reserve the right to verify the evidence which the individual submits.
  8. (e) Correction or amendment of a record requested by an individual will be denied only upon a determination by the PA Officer that:
    1. (1) The individual has failed to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the propriety of the correction or amendment in light of the criteria set forth in paragraph (c) of this section;
    2. (2) The record sought to be corrected or amended was compiled in a terminated judicial, quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative proceeding to which the individual was a party or participant;
    3. (3) The record sought to be corrected or amended is the subject of a pending judicial, quasi-judicial or quasi-legislative proceeding to which the individual is a party or participant;
    4. (4) The correction or amendment would violate a duly enacted statute or promulgated regulation; or
    5. (5) The individual unreasonably has failed to comply with the procedural requirements of these rules.
  9. (f) If a request is partially granted and partially denied, the PA Officer shall follow the appropriate procedures of this section as to the records within the grant and the records within the denial.