§ 2.231 - Disclosure of records.

§ 2.231 Disclosure of records.

(a) Prohibition of disclosure. No record contained in a system of records may be disclosed by any means of communication to any person, or to another agency, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.

(b) General exceptions. The prohibition contained in paragraph (a) does not apply where disclosure of the record would be:

(1) To those officers or employees of the Department who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties; or

(2) Required by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

(c) Specific exceptions. The prohibition contained in paragraph (a) of this section does not apply where disclosure of the record would be:

(1) For a routine use as defined in § 2.46(j) which has been described in a system notice published in the Federal Register;

(2) To the Bureau of the Census for purposes of planning or carrying out a census or survey or related activity pursuant to the provisions of Title 13, U.S. Code.

(3) To a recipient who has provided the system manager responsible for the system in which the record is maintained with advance adequate written assurance that the record will be used solely as a statistical research or reporting record, and the record is to be transferred in a form that is not individually identifiable;

(4) To the National Archives and Records Administration as a record which has sufficient historical or other value to warrant its continued preservation by the U.S. Government, or for evaluation by the Archivist of the United States or the designee of the Archivist to determine whether the record has such value;

(5) To another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity if the activity is authorized by law, and if the head of the agency or instrumentality has made a written request to the Department specifying the particular portion desired and the law enforcement activity for which the record is sought;

(6) To a person pursuant to a showing of compelling circumstances affecting the health or safety of an individual if upon such disclosure notification is transmitted to the last known address of such individual;

(7) To either House of Congress, or, to the extent of matter within its jurisdiction, any committee or subcommittee thereof, any joint committee of Congress or subcommittee of any such joint committee;

(8) To the Comptroller General, or any of his authorized representatives, in the course of the performance of the duties of the General Accounting Office;

(9) Pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or

(10) To a consumer reporting agency in accordance with section 3(d) of the Federal Claims Collection Act of 1966, as amended (31 U.S.C. 3711(f)).

(d) Reviewing records prior to disclosure.

(1) Prior to any disclosure of a record about an individual, unless disclosure is required by the Freedom of Information Act, reasonable efforts shall be made to assure that the records are accurate, complete, timely and relevant for agency purposes.

(2) When a record is disclosed in connection with a Freedom of Information request made under subpart B of this part and it is appropriate and administratively feasible to do so, the requester shall be informed of any information known to the Department indicating that the record may not be fully accurate, complete, or timely.

[40 FR 44505, Sept. 26, 1975, as amended at 48 FR 56584, Dec. 22, 1983; 50 FR 45114, Oct. 30, 1985]