USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form

OMB Control Number 0508-0002
Exp. Date mm/dd/yyyy
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)

USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form Instructions
(The complaint form is below the instructions)

PURPOSE: This form may be used if you believe you have experienced discrimination in
any USDA program or activity, and you wish to file a complaint of discrimination. The form
can be used to file a complaint of discrimination based on race, color, national origin,
religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, family/parental status,
income derived from public assistance program and politicalbeliefs. If you need assistance
filling out the form, you may call any of the telephone numbers listed at the bottom of
the complaint form. You are not required to use the complaint form. You may write a
letter instead. If you write a letter it must contain all of the information requested in
the form and be signed by you or your authorized representative.
You may also send a complaint by FAX or United States Postal Service Mail. We must
have a signed copy of your complaint. Incomplete information or an unsigned form
will delay the processing of your complaint.
FILING DEADLINE: A program discrimination complaint must be filed
180 days of the date you knew or should have known of the alleged
discrimination unless the time for filing is extended by USDA. Complaints sent by
mail are considered filed on the date the complaint was signed, unless the date on
the complaint letter differs by seven days or more from the postmark date, in which
case the postmark date will be used as the filing date. Complaint documentation or
Complaint Forms sent by fax or e-mail will be considered filed on the day the complaint
is faxed or e-mailed. Complaints filed after the 180-day deadline must include a ‘good
cause’ explanation for the delay. For example, if:
1. You could not reasonably have been expected to know of the discriminatory act
within the 180-day period.
2. You were seriously ill or incapacitated;
3. The same complaint was filed with another Federal, state, or local agency and that
agency failed to act on your complaint.
USDA POLICY: Federal law and policy prohibits discrimination against you based on the
following: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, sexual
orientation, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, and
political beliefs. (Not all bases apply to all programs).

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USDA will determine if it has jurisdiction under the law to process the complaint on
the bases identified in the complaint and in the programs indicated in the complaint.
Reprisal that is based on prior civil rights activity is prohibited.
PROPERTY ADDRESS: If this complaint involves a farm or other real estate property that
is not your current address, write in the address for that farm or real estate property.
Otherwise, this part of the form can be left blank.
PLEASE READ IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION BELOW
CONSENT
This USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form is provided in accordance withthe
Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. §552a, and is u s e d to p r o v i d e the information to
which this notice is attached. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (USDA) requests this information pursuant to 7 CFR
Part 15.
If the completed form is accepted as a complaint, the information collected during the
investigation will be used to process your program discrimination complaint.
REPRISAL (RETALIATION) PROHIBITED:
No Agency, officer, employee, or agent of the USDA, including persons representing the
USDA and its programs, shall intimidate, threaten, harass, coerce, discriminate against,
or otherwise retaliate against anyone who has filed a complaint of alleged discrimination
or who participates in any manner in an investigation or other proceeding raising claims
of discrimination.

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OMB Control Number 0508-0002
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)
Program Discrimination Complaint Form
If you have difficulty understanding this form or communicating with us because you do not speak English or have a disability, please let us
know via email at [email protected]. Free language assistance or other services are available upon request.

First Name:

Middle Initial:

Last Name:

Provide Your Full Mailing Address
Number and Street, PO Box, Road, or Route:
Apartment Number (if applicable):
City, State and Zip Code:
Email Address:
Telephone Number (with area code):
Alternate Telephone (with area code):
Best Way to Reach You (select one)
Mail:

Phone:

E-mail:

Other:

Do you have a representative (lawyer or other advocate) for this complaint?
No:

Yes:

If Yes is selected, please provide the following information about your representative:
Representative First Name:

Last Name:

Number and Street, PO Box, Road or Route:
Apartment Number:
City, State and Zip Code:
Telephone:

Email:

1. Who do you believe discriminated against you? Use additional pages, if necessary.
Name(s) of person(s) involved in the alleged discrimination (if known):

Please name the program you applied for (if known/if applicable):
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Please select the USDA Agency below that conducts the program or provides Federal
financial assistance for the program (if known):
Farm Service Agency

Food and Nutrition Service:

Rural Development

Natural Resource Conservation Service

Forest Service

Other:

2. What happened to you? State the date when the alleged discrimination occurred
and then describe what happened. If the alleged discrimination occurred more
than once, please provide the other dates and describe what happened. Use
additional pages, if necessary, and please include any supporting documents that
would help show what happened.

3. Where did the discrimination occur?

Address of location where incident occurred:
Number, Street, PO Box, Road, Route

City

State

Zip Code

4. It is a violation of the law to discriminate against you based on the following: race,

color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental
status, income derived from a public assistance program, and political beliefs. (Not
all bases apply to all programs) Reprisal is prohibited based on prior civil rights
activity.
I believe I was discriminated against based on the following information.

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5. Remedies: How would you like to see this complaint resolved?

6. Have you filed a complaint about the incident(s) with another federal, state, or local

agency or with a court?
Yes:

No:

If yes, with what agency or court did you file?
When did you file?

Month

Signature:

Day

Date:

Mail Completed Form To:
USDA Office of the Assistant Secretary
for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Ave, SW, Stop 9410
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410

Email Completed Form To:
[email protected]

Telephone Numbers:
Local area: (202) 260-1026
Toll-free: (866) 632-9992
Local or Federal relay: (800) 877-8339
Spanish relay: (800) 845-6136
Fax: 1-833-256-1665 or 202-690-7442

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Year

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTS:
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) requires us
to inform you that this information is being collected to ensure that your
complaint contains all the information required to file a complaint. TheOffice
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights will use the information to process
your complaint of program discrimination.
Response to this request is voluntary. The information you provide on this
form will only be shared with persons who have an official need to know, and
will be protected from public disclosure pursuant to the provisions of the
Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b).
The estimated time required to complete this form is 60 minutes. You may
send comments regarding the accuracy of this estimate and any suggestions
for reducing the time for completion of the form to USDA, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington,
DC 20250-9410.
An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, nor is a person required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control
Number. The OMB Control Number for this form is 0508-0002.

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