6 C.F.R. § 5.26 – Requests for amendment or correction of records.

(a) How made and addressed. Unless the record is not subject to amendment or correction as stated in paragraph (f) of this section, an individual may make a request for amendment or correction of a record of the Department about that individual by writing directly to the component that maintains the record, following the procedures in § 5.21. The request should identify each record in question, state the amendment or correction requested, and state the reason why the requester believes that the record is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete. The requester may submit any documentation that the requester thinks would support the request. If the individual believes that the same record is in more than one system of records, the requester should state that and address the request to each component that maintains a system of records containing the record.
(b) Component responses. Within ten working days of receiving a request for amendment or correction of records, a component will send the requester a written acknowledgment of its receipt of the request, and it will promptly notify the requester whether the request is granted or denied. If the component grants the request in whole or in part, it will describe the amendment or correction made and will advise the requester of the right to obtain a copy of the corrected or amended record, in disclosable form. If the component denies the request in whole or in part, it will send the requester a letter signed by the head of the component, or the component head's designee, that will state:
1. (1) The reason(s) for the denial; and
2. (2) The procedure for appeal of the denial under paragraph (c) of this section, including the name and business address of the official who will act on the appeal.
(c) Appeals. Within 90 working days after the date of the component's response, the requester may appeal a denial of a request for amendment or correction to the Component Appeals Officer or the DHS Office of the General Counsel or its designee. The Component Appeals Officer or the DHS Office of the General Counsel or its designee must complete its review and make a final determination on the requester's appeal no later than 30 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays) from the date on which the individual requests such review unless good cause is shown, and communicated to the individual, for which the 30-day period may be extended for an additional 30 days. If the appeal is denied, the requester will be advised of the right to file a Statement of Disagreement as described in paragraph (d) of this section and of the right under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(d)(3), for court review of the decision. If an individual wishes to seek review by a court of any adverse determination or denial of a request, that individual must first appeal it under this subpart. For purposes of responding to a JRA amendment request, a covered person is subject to the same limitations, including exemptions and exceptions, as an individual is subject to under section 552a of title 5, United States Code, when pursuing amendment to records. The implementing regulations and reasons provided for exemptions can be found in appendix C to this part, titled DHS Systems of Records Exempt from the Privacy Act.
(d) Statements of Disagreement. If an individual's appeal under this section is denied in whole or in part, that individual has the right to file a Statement of Disagreement, unless exempt, that states the individual's reason(s) for disagreeing with the Department's denial of the request for amendment or correction. Statements of Disagreement must be concise, must clearly identify each part of any record that is disputed, and should be no longer than one typed page for each fact disputed. The individual's Statement of Disagreement must be sent to the component involved, which will place it in the system of records in which the disputed record is maintained and will mark the disputed record to indicate that a Statement of Disagreement has been filed and where in the system of records it may be found.
(e) Notification of amendment/correction or disagreement. Within 30 working days of the amendment or correction of a record, the component that maintains the record will, unless exempt, notify all persons, organizations, or agencies to which it previously disclosed the record, if an accounting of that disclosure was made or should have been made, that the record has been amended or corrected. If an individual has filed a Statement of Disagreement, the component will append a copy of it to the disputed record whenever the record is disclosed and may also append a concise statement of its reason(s) for denying the request to amend or correct the record.
(f) Records not subject to amendment or correction. The following records are not subject to amendment or correction:
1. (1) Transcripts of testimony given under oath or written statements made under oath;
2. (2) Transcripts of grand jury proceedings, judicial proceedings, or quasi-judicial proceedings, which are the official record of those proceedings;
3. (3) Presentence records that originated with the courts; and
4. (4) Records in systems of records that have been exempted from amendment and correction under the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(j) or (k)) pursuant to a final rule published in the Federal Register.