Supporting_statement__FINAL_3095-0037_2026

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SUPPORTING STATEMENT
OMB Control No. 3095-0037
Requests for Civilian Service Records
NA Form 13022, Returned Request
NA Form 13068, Walk-In Request for OPM Records or Information
1. Circumstances making the collection of information necessary. The National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA) administers Official Personnel Folders (OPF) and Employee
Medical Folders (EMF) of former Federal civilian employees. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
records and some Federal agency OPFs have been transferred to NARA’s legal custody and are
considered archival records. Records still in the legal custody of the creating agency but in NARA’s
physical custody are administered in accordance with rules issued by the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM). These latter records are non-archival records. When former Federal civilian
employees and other authorized individuals request information from or copies of documents in
OPFs or EMFs, they must provide certain information about the employee and the nature of the
request. They may provide that information through a form or through a letter or other methods.
People may use the NA Form 13068, Walk-In Request for OPM Records or Information, to request
a copy of a Personnel or Medical record, or they may make a request through letters or other
methods. We may then use the NA Form 13022, Returned Request, to ask for additional information
about the former Federal employee whose records are being requested. We need additional
information to better identify individuals listed on microfiche holdings since SSNs were not used
during many of the time periods covered by requests for information. We also need the information
to determine whether the requestor is authorized to receive the information. The authority for this
information collection is contained in 36 CFR 1233.14 (outdated 36 CFR 1228.164).
2. Purpose and use of the information. Non-archival civilian personnel and medical records
described above (ones that have not been transferred to NARA’s legal custody) are in NPRC’s
physical custody, but legal custody of the records remains with the Office of Personnel Management
or the creating agency. Handling requests for information from these records must conform to the
legal requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Privacy Act, and the
implementing regulations of OPM and other agencies that own the records.
Archival records (CCC records and some Federal agency OPFs transferred to NARA’s legal
custody) are open to the public. The Privacy Act of 1974 does not apply to archival records.
However, in order to protect the privacy of the civilian employee, their family, and third parties
named in the records, the personal privacy exemption of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C §
552(b)(6)) may still apply and preclude release of some information.
NPRC uses information submitted by requesters on NA Form 13022 and NA Form 13068, or by
other methods, to locate requested records and to determine the releasability of records. When third
parties submit requests for these records, the request also serves as a record of disclosure because
non-archival civilian personnel and medical records are covered by the Privacy Act. Without this
information collection, NPRC would be unable to provide requested information to requestors since
information submitted in the information collection is the minimum NPRC staff need in order to
locate and release requested records.
3. Use of information technology and burden reduction. The forms are available online through

the archives.gov website. Links to the forms are on the NPRC web page within related subject
areas, as appropriate. Currently, there is no information technology application available to accept
the collected information online. The collected information is the minimum information needed to
allow NPRC to locate the record and provide the requested information.
4. Efforts to identify duplication and use of similar information. We collect this information only
when an individual requests information from these records. Each information collection is unique
and the information is not duplicated elsewhere.
5. Impact on small businesses or other small entities. The information collection does not have a
significant impact on small businesses or other small entities.
6. Consequences of collecting the information less frequently. The frequency of response is on
occasion, such as when individuals, businesses, and government entities desire to acquire
information from civilian personnel or medical records. Therefore, the information collection
cannot be conducted less frequently because requesters determine when they want to request
information. Many requesters submit one request in order to obtain replacements of documents in
civilian personnel or medical files or to verify some aspects of an individual's civilian service. Some
requesters who conduct genealogical research may submit multiple requests, although we estimate
that such individuals comprise no more than 1% of the total number of requesters.
7. Special circumstances relating to the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5. This is a voluntary
information collection. We collect this information in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5
CFR 1320.5.
8. Comments in response to the Federal Register notice and efforts to consult outside agency.
We provided the public an opportunity to comment on the information in the Federal Register on
June 12, 2026 (91 FR 35708). We received no comment(s).
9. Explanation of any payment or gift to respondents. We do not provide a payment or gift to
respondents for this information.
10.Assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents. NPRC staff retains, in civilian personnel
and medical records, NA Forms 13022 and 13068, as Privacy Act-protected records of disclosure.
NA Forms 13022 and 13068, become releasable only in accordance with Privacy Act provisions,
contained in 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and the routine uses for systems of civilian personnel records,
contained in the Privacy Act system of records notice for NARA 35, Case Management and
Reporting System (CMRS), last published in full in the Federal Register at 78 FR 77255 at page
77281. The most current version is also always available at
https://www.archives.gov/privacy/inventory.
11.Justification for sensitive questions. We do not ask questions of a sensitive nature.
12.Estimates of hour burden including annualized hourly costs. We estimate the following annual
hour burden for all individual respondents based on the total volume used by the responding facility
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during fiscal year (FY) 2024, and the total hourly cost of all respondents, based on the current
Federal minimum wage:
Form of request
from respondents

Number of
respondents

NA Form 13022
NA Form 13068
Other request
methods
TOTAL

6,664
1,600

Responses
per
respondent

Minutes
per
response

1

5 (1/12 of
an hour or
.0833)

2,165
10,429

----

----

Annual hour
burden for all
respondents
555
133
180
868

Total hourly
cost (hour
burden x $15)
$8,326.67
$ $1,999.20
$2,705.18
$13,031.05

NPRC developed the respondent data by tracking the number of forms returned to NPRC by
requesters. The estimated times for completing each form are based on the expectation that most
respondents will be employees who can complete required information from memory. Even next of
kin or others acting on authority of employees are usually prepared to complete the essential
information just as quickly.
13.Estimate of total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers. The total estimated
annualized respondent cost other than hour costs in item 12 is $6,974.91. Because requests are
normally made for the personal benefit of requesters, the respondents’ costs consist of materials to
respond (e.g., envelope, stamp). We estimate materials costs about $0.82 per response. Although
respondents can get the form online, we don’t currently have an electronic submission mechanism,
so they would have to mail or deliver the forms. Requests submitted using NA Form 13068, which
requestors pick up at the facility and normally submit in person or by fax, do not incur the materials
cost. The estimated annualized cost is based on the total volume used by the responding facility
during fiscal year (FY) 2024:
Form of request from
respondents
NA Form 13022
NA Form 13068
Other request methods
TOTAL

# of responses x materials cost

Total cost for all responses

6,664 x $0.82 =

$5,464.48

2,165 x $0.82 =
---

$1,775.30
$7,239.78

14.Annualized cost to the Federal Government. We estimate the total annualized cost to NARA as
$5,264.56. This includes costs associated with printing and mailing NA Forms 13022 in response to
incomplete requests we receive. However, this does not include staff time required to perform core
functions at NPRC, including responding to letter and form requests that contain sufficient
information and reviewing and preparing the responses for mailing.
15.Explanation for program changes or adjustments. We have cancelled one form associated with
this: NA Form 13064, Reply to Request Involving Relief Agencies, which accounted for only 100
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annual respondents and 8 annual hour burden. The “Relief” agencies noted are: The National
Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency in the United States that focused on
providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June
26, 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and FERA was established
as a result of the Federal Emergency Relief Act and was replaced in 1935 by the Works
Progress Administration (WPA). Under Hoover, the agency gave loans to the states to
operate relief programs.
Due to the post-COVID environment and the transition of these forms being used exclusively by the
Valmeyer facility, the annual volume of the forms’ usage has decreased dramatically. While the
usage of these forms has decreased, some associated costs have increased since the last renewal:
postage has increased to $0.82, and the costs for paper and toner have slightly increased as well
($0.032 per page and $0.042 per page, respectively).
16.Plans for tabulation and publication and project time schedule. We do not use this information
collection for statistical publications.
17.Reason(s) display of OMB expiration date is inappropriate. We display the OMB expiration
date for this information collection on the form.
18.Exceptions to Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act submissions. We are not requesting
any exceptions to the certification statement.

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