Authority:  5 U.S.C. § 552, 5 U.S.C. § 552a and 38 CFR § 1.550 through 1.562 Procedures for Disclosure of Records Under the Freedom of Information Act https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-38/chapter-I/part-1/subject-group-ECFRc44d241fe38eae5.  Specifically, 5 U.S.C. § 552 authorizes the collection of information, records, and related correspondence on individuals who have submitted requests for records to an agency. The Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d), authorizes the collection of information, records, and related correspondence on individuals who have submitted requests under the provisions of the Privacy Act for records about themselves.

Purpose: The information collected by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through the eFOIA Software as a Service, and the Public Access Link (PAL) is authorized by 5 U.S.C. § 552 and 5 U.S.C. § 552a. 

Routine Use(s): The published routine uses to which the information is subject: VA will use this information to search for records responsive to your requests, track FOIA and Privacy Act requests, manage requester fees and payments where applicable, correspond with requesters, and provide responsive documents to requesters. VA uses the information collected by eFOIA and the PAL for authorized routine uses, including sharing with other federal government agencies and courts, as provided in the following System of Records Notices (SORNs) or their successors: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Records—VA (119VA005R1C)and SORN Other Government Agencies-VA (213VA045A1) and multiple Privacy Act-related SORNs found on the Department of VA’s website at https://department.va.gov/privacy/system-of-records-notices/.

Disclosure: Disclosure of PII is voluntary. Individuals may refuse to provide their PII, thereby withdrawing their request. VA may not be able to respond to a request or locate responsive records if there is failure to describe the records sought in enough detail to allow VA personnel to locate them with a reasonable amount of effort. To the extent possible, the requester should include specific information about each record sought, such as the date, title or name, author, recipient, and subject matter of the document.