- (a) Personal files are defined in § 1220.18 of this subchapter. This section does not apply to agencies and positions that are covered by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 (44 U.S.C. 2201-2207) (see 36 CFR part 1270 of this chapter).
(b) Personal files must be clearly designated as such and must be maintained separately from the office's official records.
- (1) Information about private (non-agency) matters and agency business must not be mixed in outgoing agency documents, such as correspondence and messages.
- (2) If information about private matters and agency business appears in a received document, the document is a Federal record. Agencies may make a copy of the document with the personal information deleted or redacted, and treat the copy as the Federal record.
- (3) Materials labeled “personal,” “confidential,” or “private,” or similarly designated, and used in the transaction of public business, are Federal records. The use of a label such as “personal” does not affect the status of documentary materials in a Federal agency.