105-60.501—Categories of records exempt from disclosure under the FOIA.

(a) 5 U.S.C. 552(b) provides that the requirements of the FOIA do not apply to matters that are:

(1) Specifically authorized under the criteria established by an executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such executive order;

(2) Related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency;

(3) Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b of this title ), provided that such statute

(i) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or

(ii) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld;

(4) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;

(5) Interagency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency in litigation with the agency;

(6) Personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(7) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information

(i) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings;

(ii) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;

(iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by a confidential source;

(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or

(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual;

(8) Contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions; or

(9) Geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.

(b) GSA will provide any reasonably segregable portion of a record to a requester after deletion of the portions that are exempt under this section. If GSA must delete information from a record before disclosing it, this information, and the reasons for withholding it, will be clearly described in the cover letter to the requester or in an attachment. Unless indicating the extent of the deletion would harm an interest protected by an exemption, the amount of deleted information shall be indicated on the released portion of paper records by use of brackets or darkened areas indicating removal of information. In the case of electronic deletion, the amount of redacted information shall be indicated at the place in the record where such deletion was made, unless including the indication would harm an interest protected by the exemption under which the exemption was made.

(c) GSA will invoke no exemption under this section to deny access to records that would be available pursuant to a request made under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and implementing regulations, 41 CFR part 105-64, or if disclosure would cause no demonstrable harm to any governmental or private interest.

(d) Pursuant to National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-201, section 821, 110 Stat. 2422, GSA will invoke Exemption 3 to deny access to any proposal submitted by a vendor in response to the requirements of a solicitation for a competitive proposal unless the proposal is set forth or incorporated by reference in a contract entered into between the agency and the contractor that submitted the proposal.

(e) Whenever a request is made which involves access to records described in § 105-60.501(a)(7)(i) and the investigation or proceeding involves a possible violation of criminal law, and there is reason to believe that the subject of the investigation or proceeding is not aware of it, and disclosure of the existence of the records could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, the agency may, during only such time as that circumstance continues, treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section.

(f) Whenever informant records maintained by a criminal law enforcement agency under an informant's name or personal identifier are requested by a third party according to the informant's name or personal identifier, the agency may treat the records as not subject to the requirements of this section unless the informant's status as an informant has been officially confirmed.

(g) Whenever a request is made that involves access to records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation pertaining to foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, or international terrorism, and the existence of the records is classified information as provided in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the Bureau may, as long as the existence of the records remains classified information, treat the records are not subject to the requirements of this section.