Individual Assistance FOIA Disclaimer

The following applicant data is provided under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and obtained from FEMA's National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS) database. Data on disasters declared for Individual Assistance by the President of the United States will be available 30 days (interim) after the application period opens and updated 60 days (final) after the disaster application period has closed.

The data is provided as a text file because test files are compatible with various databases and can store significant amounts of data. The processing information is provided by individual: Disaster Number, Zip Code, County, Registration ID, Category of Assistance, Assistance Status, Assistance Type, Assistance Status Detail, Eligibility Date, Approved Date, Eligible Amount, Determination Type, and Ownership Status. In addition, the following Inspection information is provided by individual: Line Item Description, Quantity Recorded, SBA Status, Water Level, Cause of Damage, Insurance Status for Line Item, Personal Property Item Description, Clothing Miscellaneous Item Description, Generic Room, Essential Tool Item Description, Real Property Damage Item Description, Damage Level, Item Amount, and Damage Type.

Under the Privacy Act of 1974, we are not allowed to disclose any individually identifiable information, which is contained in our system or records 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, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Privacy Act regulations, 6 CFR § 5.21(f).

We are withholding applicants' names and addresses under FOIA Exemption 6, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Release of this information would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The interest of the general public in reviewing these portions of government documents does not outweigh the individuals' rights to privacy.

We are withholding the inspector's identification numbers under FOIA Exemption 6 because of the identities of the inspectors may become obvious by the release. Release of inspector's identification numbers would constitute and unwarranted invasion of the inspector's personal privacy. The interest of the general public in reviewing these portions of the government documents does not outweigh the individual's rights to privacy.

Inquiries requesting additional data or information under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) may be sent to:

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Office of General Counsel
500 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20472

FACT SHEET: Freedom of Information Action Data Release

  1. RGSN_ID is the Agency's unique identifying number assigned to an application and is used to track assistance for the applicant throughout that disaster. 
  2. RGSN_ID are the key field for linking the tables.
  3. RGSN_ID can be listed in a file more than once, dependant upon the type of assistance received, the date received and/or how the data is stored in a table. 
    1. FEMA provides multiples types of assistance; therefore the RGSN_IDS can be listed more than once for the same day for different type of assistance.
    2. FEMA provides supplemental/continuing assistance; therefore the RGSN_IDS can be listed on different days for the same type of assistance.
    3. Applicants can appeal a decision; therefore the RGSN_IDS can be listed on different days for the same type of assistance.
  4. RGSN_ID might not show up in every file.  There is not a one-to-one join or relationship between the files.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 15-Aug-2006 16:26:55 EDT