If you believe that the RRB has records about you in one of its Privacy Act Systems of Records, you may obtain those records by:

• Addressing a letter to the System of Records Manager listed in the notice for that system of records. 
  Note: Do not make your request by email.
• Request the records you want.  Be specific.
• Include your full name and address.  Also include a telephone number so we can contact you to clarify your request.
• Include your identifying information so we can locate your record.  For railroad industry records, include your RRB claim number or the social security account number of the railroad worker. 

You may also be able to obtain some railroad industry information through our MainLine Services.

If you are not sure how to describe the records you want, feel free to call the RRB field office nearest you for help.

Medical records

Special rules apply to medical records: These can be summarized as follows:

• If we have denied your application for disability benefits and you ask for your medical records to contest our decision, we will furnish them to you.
   
• In all other cases, we will first have our medical staff examine them to determine whether their release to you might be harmful to you. If our medical staff thinks their release might be harmful to you, we will ask that you furnish us with the name and address of a physician of your choice. We will then release the medical records to this physician who can then review the records with you and release them to you if in his professional judgment the release would be warranted. In the majority of cases, medical records are released directly to the requester.
   
• With the exception of the special case where we release the records to your designated physician and when you request your medical records to contest our denial of your claim for benefits, we must release your medical records directly to you, even if you request us to furnish them to a third party, such as an attorney. Once you receive the records, you are free, of course, to give them to whoever you wish. This procedure, which we admit might be an inconvenience to you, is a requirement of the laws we administer.

Fees

We do not send the original records to you. For paper documents, we send photocopies. The cost you are charged covers  only the actual cost of reproduction over $10.00.