(a) Any individual, regardless of age, may submit an inquiry to the Department. The inquiry should be made either in person at the office of, or by mail addressed to, the appropriate Privacy Act Officer. Although oral requests may be honored, a requester may be asked to submit his request in writing. The envelope containing the request and the letter itself should both clearly indicate that the subject is a “PRIVACY ACT INQUIRY”. If an individual believes the Department maintains a record pertaining to that individual but does not know which system of records might contain such a record and/or which organizational component of the Department maintains the system of records, assistance in person or by mail will be provided at the following address: Privacy Act Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th St. SW, Room 10139, Washington, DC 20410.

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(b)(1) An inquiry should contain the following information:

(i) Name, address and telephone number of the individual making the request;

(ii) Name, address and telephone number of the individual to whom the record pertains, if the requesting individual is either the parent of a minor or the legal guardian of the individual to whom the record pertains;

(iii) A certified or authenticated copy of documents establishing parentage or guardianship;

(iv) Whether the individual to whom the record pertains is a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in to the United States;

(v) Name of the system of records, as published in the Federal Register;

(vi) Location of the system of records, as published in the Federal Register;

(vii) Such additional information as the individual knows will or believes might assist the Department in responding to the inquiry (for example, the individual’s past or present relationship with the Department, e.g. mortgagor, contractor, employee, including relevant dates) and in verifying the individual’s identity (for example, date of birth, place of birth, names of parents, place of work, dates of employment, position title, etc.);

(viii) Date of inquiry; and,

(ix) Individual’s signature.

The Department reserves the right to require compliance with the identification procedures appearing at § 16.4(d) where circumstances warrant.

(2) In compliance with 5 U.S.C. § 552a (e)(3) each individual supplying the information in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section hereby is informed that:

(i) The authority authorizing solicitation of the information is 5 U.S.C. § 552a, disclosure is voluntary, and no penalty is attached for failure to respond;

(ii) The principal purpose for which the information is intended to be used is processing the inquiry under the Act;

(iii) The routine uses which may be made of the information are the routine uses appearing as a prefatory statement to the Department’s notice of systems of records published in the Federal Register; and,

(iv) The effects of not providing all or any part of the information may delay, or in some cases make impossible, the Department’s processing of the action on the request under the Act.

(3) If, having been made aware of the contents of paragraph (b)(2) of this section, an individual submits the information listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, he or she will be deemed to have made the submission on a purely voluntary and consensual basis.

(c) When an inquiry is misdirected by the requester, or not addressed as specified in paragraph (a) of this section, the Department official receiving same shall make reasonable effort to identify, and promptly refer it to, the appropriate Privacy Act Officer and the time of receipt for processing purposes will be the time when it is received by the Privacy Act Officer.

(d) When an inquiry fails to provide necessary information as set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, the requester shall be advised that the time of receipt for processing purposes will be the time when the additional necessary information is received by the Privacy Act Officer.

(e) Each inquiry received shall be acted upon promptly by the responsible Privacy Act Officer. Every effort will be made to respond within ten days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) of the date of receipt. If a response cannot be made within ten days, the Privacy Act Officer shall send an acknowledgement during that period providing information on the status of the inquiry. The Privacy Act Officer may indicate that additional information would facilitate processing or that further information is necessary to process the inquiry.

[40 FR 39729, Aug. 28, 1975, as amended at 83 FR 26361, June 7, 2018]