Requesting Records About Yourself
Under the Privacy Act
The Privacy Act (PA) of 1974 is a Federal law that is set forth in Title
5, Section 552a, of the United States Code (5 U.S.C.552a), as
amended. The purpose of the PA is to balance the Government's need to
maintain information about individuals with the rights of individuals
to be protected against unwarranted invasions of their privacy resulting
from the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information.
In general, the PA allows individuals to learn how the Federal Government
collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates records containing personal
information. It also safeguards confidentiality by limiting or restricting
disclosure of personally identifiable records maintained by Federal agencies.
The PA allows individuals to gain access to their own personal records
(unless the requested records are exempted from disclosure), and to seek
correction or amendment of Federally maintained records that are inaccurate,
incomplete, untimely, or irrelevant. As such, the PA establishes a "code
of fair information practices," which requires Federal agencies to comply
with statutory norms for collecting, maintaining, and disseminating records
containing information about individuals.
The PA applies only to U.S. citizens and aliens who are lawfully admitted
for permanent residence in the United States. It applies only to personal
information maintained by agencies in the Executive Branch of the Federal
Government.
The PA also pertains only to information that is maintained in a "system
of records," which the Act defines as a group of agency-controlled records
from which information is retrieved by a unique identifier, such as an
individual's name and/or birth date, Social Security number, or employee
identification number. The PA further defines a "record" as any individually
identifiable set of information that an agency might maintain about a
person.
Where to Request Records
All records for the Census Bureau can be requested directly from the
Census Bureau's FOIA/Privacy Act staff. Send your
request to the Census Bureau's FOIA Officer: Mary C. Potter.
How to File a Privacy Act Request
All requests must be in writing. There are three basic elements to a
request for records under the Privacy Act. First, the letter should state
that the request is being made under the Privacy Act. Second, the letter
should include the name, address, and signature of the requester. Third,
the request should describe the records as specifically as possible.
You can describe the records by identifying a specific system of records
or by describing your contacts or involvement with an agency. If possible,
include in your description information such as the date and place the
records were created, the file descriptions, subject matter, persons involved,
and other pertinent details that will help identify the records.
You are required to provide some proof of identity before records will
be disclosed. A signed and notarized Privacy Act Waiver form
CD316  will provide this information.
Include a mailing address and a daytime telephone number so we can contact
you if necessary. When submitting your request by mail, please mark the
envelope "PRIVACY ACT REQUEST."
Keep a copy of your request. You may need to refer to it in further correspondence
with the agency.
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