32 CFR 1900.42 – Right of appeal and appeal procedures
(a) Right of appeal. A right of administrative appeal exists whenever access to any requested record or any portion thereof is denied, or no records are located in response to a request. In addition, requesters may appeal denials of requests for expedited processing and fee waivers, as well as the adequacy of a search for records responsive to a request. The Agency will apprise all requesters in writing of their right to file an administrative appeal to the ARP through the Coordinator.
(b) Requirements as to time and form. Appeals of decisions must be received by the Coordinator within ninety (90) calendar days of the date of the Agency’s initial decision. The Agency may, for good cause and as a matter of administrative discretion, permit an additional thirty (30) business days for the submission of an appeal. All appeals shall be in writing and addressed as specified in § 1900.03. All appeals must identify the documents or portions of documents at issue with specificity and may present such information, data, and argument in support as the requester may desire.
(c) Exceptions. No appeal shall be processed if the requester has outstanding fees for information services at this or another Federal agency.
(d) Receipt, recording, and tasking. The Agency shall promptly record each request received under this part, acknowledge receipt to the requester in writing, and thereafter effect the necessary taskings to the relevant components for appropriate action.
(e) Time for response. The Agency shall attempt to complete action on an appeal within twenty (20) business days of the date of receipt, except for appeals of denial of expedited processing, for which the Agency shall attempt to complete action within ten (10) business days of the date of receipt. The current volume of requests, however, often requires that the Agency request additional time from the requester pursuant to § 1900.33. In such event, the Agency will inform the requester of the right to judicial review.