Information Quality Act

Bureau of Administration
Revised Feb. 14, 2006

This page provides guidance on submitting requests for the correction of information publicly disseminated by the Department of State to be considered under the Department’s Information Quality Guidelines.  In submitting your request, please review the Submission Requirements (below) to determine whether your submission meets the criteria. Please be advised, however, that matters such as passports and visas can only be handled through their respective web pages.

This page also presents the Department’s supporting administrative mechanisms to request correction of information under the guidelines, the Information Quality Act Annual Report for 2004, and the Department’s Bulletin for Peer Review. The Department’s Information Quality Guidelines were developed in accordance with the provisions of Public Law 106-554 and OMB government-wide requirements directing all federal agencies to issue guidelines for ensuring the quality of the information that they disseminate to the public. 

Effective Date: The quality review procedures described in the Department Guidelines pertain to information disseminated by the Department on or after October 1, 2002.  The administrative correction mechanisms outlined in the Guidelines pertain to information disseminated by the Department on or after October 1, 2002 regardless of when it was first disseminated.

The purposes of the Guidelines are to provide policy and procedural guidance to Department staff, and to inform the public about agency policies and procedures.  The Department views the guidelines as an evolving document and process.  The Department will continually review the performance of the guidelines in the context of agency statutes and missions and will make revisions to the guidelines as necessary.

Bulletin for Peer Review

On December 15, 2004, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review.  The Bulletin provides for agencies to peer review certain types of information before the information is disseminated to the public.  In addition, the Bulletin provides for agencies to post a peer review agenda on their Web site by June 16, 2005, and update it at least every six months.   Effective December 16, 2005, the agenda is to include all “influential scientific information” covered by the Bulletin.

Based on the review it has conducted, the Department of State believes that it does not currently produce or sponsor the distribution of influential scientific information (including highly influential scientific assessments) within the definitions promulgated by OMB.  As a result, at this time the Department of State has no agenda of forthcoming influential scientific disseminations to post on its website in accordance with OMB’s Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review

Submission Requirements

Based upon your submission, the Department of State will determine the need for correction of information. We will make every effort to process your request in a timely manner. To assist us in this process, your request for correction of information should include the following:

Description of Information To Correct
The name of the Department of State publication, report, or data product; the date of issuance or other identifying information such as the URL of the web page; and a concise description that clearly identifies the specific information contained in the publication, report, or data product which you believe requires correction.

Explanation of Noncompliance With the Information Quality Guidelines
You must provide an explanation that describes how the information fails to meet the Department’s Information Quality Guidelines. 
 

Explanation of the Affect of the Alleged Error
You must provide an explanation that describes your use of the information in question and how you are affected by the alleged error.

Recommendation and Justification for How the Information Should Be Corrected
Please state with as much specificity as possible how the information should be corrected and explain why the correction should be made. Your justification or evidence supporting the need for correction will help to facilitate our determination.

Requests for correction are submitted by on-line form.

View previous Requests for Correction

Information Quality Act Annual Report for 2005
 

Information Quality Act Annual Report for 2004