Purpose and scope. This subpart implements the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a. These regulations apply to all records which are contained in systems of records maintained by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and that are retrieved by an individual's name or personal identifier. These regulations set forth the procedures by which individuals may request access to records about themselves, request amendment or correction of those records, and request an accounting of disclosures of those records by the SBA. These regulations also set forth the requirements applicable to SBA employees maintaining, collecting, using or disseminating records pertaining to individuals. This subpart applies to SBA and all of its offices and is mandatory for use by all SBA employees.

Definitions. As used in this subpart:

Agency means the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and includes all of its offices wherever located;

Employee means any employee of the SBA, regardless of grade, status, category or place of employment;

Individual means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. This term shall not encompass entrepreneurial enterprises (e.g. sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations, or other forms of business entities);

Maintain includes maintain, collect, use, or disseminate;

Record means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by the SBA, including, but not limited to education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the individual's name, or an identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual such as a finger or voice print or photograph;

System of records means a group of any records under the control of SBA from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by an identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual;

Statistical record means a record in a system of records maintained for statistical research or reporting purposes only and not used in whole or in part in making any determination about an identifiable individual;

Routine use means, with respect to the disclosure of a record, the use of such record for a purpose which is compatible with the purpose for which it was collected;

Request for access to a record means a request made under Privacy Act subsection (d)(1) allowing an individual to gain access to his or her record or to any information pertaining to him or her which is contained in a system of records;

Request for amendment or correction of a record means a request made under Privacy Act subsection (d)(2), permitting an individual to request amendment or correction of a record that he or she believes is not accurate, relevant, timely, or complete;

Request for an accounting means a request made under Privacy Act subsection (c)(3) allowing an individual to request an accounting of any disclosure to any SBA officers and employees who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties;

Requester is an individual who makes a request for access, a request for amendment or correction, or a request for an accounting under the Privacy Act; and

Authority to request records for a law enforcement purpose means that the head of an Agency or a United States Attorney, or either's designee, is authorized to make written requests under subsection (b)(7) of the Privacy Act for records maintained by other agencies that are necessary to carry out an authorized law enforcement activity.