§ 16.8 - Request for correction or amendment to record.

§ 16.8 Request for correction or amendment to record.

(a) Any individual, regardless of age, may submit to the Department a request for correction or amendment of a record pertaining to that individual. The request should be made either in person at the office of, or by mail addressed to, the Privacy Act Officer who processed the individual's request for access to the record. Although an oral request may be honored, a requester may be asked to submit his or her request in writing. The envelope containing the request and the letter itself should both clearly indicate that the subject is a PRIVACY ACT REQUEST FOR CORRECTION OR AMENDMENT.

(b) When a request for correction or amendment is misdirected by the requester, or not addressed as specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the Department official receiving same shall make reasonable effort to identify, and promptly refer it to, the appropriate Privacy Act Officer and the time of receipt for processing purposes will be the time when it is received by the appropriate official.

(c) When a request for correction or amendment fails to provide necessary information as set forth in paragraph (e) of this section, the requester shall be given reasonable opportunity to answer the request and shall be advised that the time of receipt for processing purposes will be the time when the additional necessary information is received by the appropriate official.

(d) Since the request, in all cases, will follow a request for access under § 16.4, the individual's identity will be established by his or her signature on the request.

(e) A request for correction or amendment should include the following:

(1) A specific identification of the record sought to be corrected or amended (for example, description, title, date, paragraph, sentence, line and words);

(2) The specific wording to be deleted, if any;

(3) The specific wording to be inserted or added, if any, and the exact place at which it is to be inserted or added; and

(4) A statement of the basis for the requested correction or amendment, with all available supporting documents and materials which substantiate the statement.

(f) The provisions of § 16.3(b) (2) and (3) apply to the information obtained under paragraph (e) of this section.