5 CFR 1830.3 – Requirements for making Privacy Act requests
(a) Submission of requests. A request for OSC records under the Privacy Act must be made in writing. The request must be sent:
Terms Used In 5 CFR 1830.3
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
(1) By email to: foiarequest@osc.gov; or
(2) By mail to: U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Chief Privacy Officer, 1730 M Street NW, Suite 218, Washington, DC 20036-4505.
(3) Both the request letter and envelope or email should clearly be marked “Privacy Act Request.” A Privacy Act request is deemed received by OSC when it reaches the Chief Privacy Officer.
(b) Description of records sought. Requestors must describe the records sought in enough detail for OSC to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort, including, where known, data such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the requested record.
(c) Proof of identity. OSC requires proof of identity from requestors seeking their own files, preferably a government-issued document bearing the subject individual’s photograph. OSC requires a signed consent from the subject individual to release records to an individual’s representative.
(d) Freedom of Information Act processing. OSC also processes all Privacy Act requests for access to records under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, by following the rules contained in part 1820 of this chapter.