# 9.29 Administrative appeals.
(a) *Grounds for administrative appeals.* A requester may administratively appeal an adverse NRC determination on their initial request, including—
(1) Denial of a Freedom of Information Act request for access, in whole or part, to agency records;
(2) Denial of a request for waiver or reduction of fees, including a denial to assign a requester to a particular fee category; or
(3) Denial of a request for expedited processing.
(b) *Not grounds for administrative appeals.* A requester may not file an administrative appeal for the lack of a timely response.
(c) *Requirements for filing an administrative appeal.* To ensure a timely response to an appeal:
(1) The appeal must be made in writing;
(2) An appeal, other than an appeal of the denial of an expedited processing request, must be postmarked or submitted electronically within 90 calendar days of the date of an adverse determination;
(3) An appeal of a denial of an expedited processing request must be made within 10 calendar days of the date of an adverse determination;
(4) If an appeal is submitted by mail or delivery service, it must be addressed as set forth on the NRC's website;
(5) The appeal must be labelled “Freedom of Information Act Appeal”;
(6) If an appeal is submitted by electronic means, it must be addressed as set forth on the NRC's website, *https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html.* The appeal must be labelled “Freedom of Information Act Appeal”;
(7) The appeal must set forth contact information for the requester, including to the extent available, a mailing address, telephone number, or email address at which the NRC may contact the requester regarding the appeal; and
(8) The appeal must specify the applicable request tracking number, the date of the initial request, and the date of the initial determination; and, where possible, enclose a copy of the initial request and the initial determination being appealed.
(d) *Processing of administrative appeals.* The receipt of the appeal will be acknowledged by the NRC and the requester will be advised of the date the appeal was received, the appeal tracking number, and the expected date of response.
(e) *Nondisclosed information.* On receipt of any appeal involving nondisclosed exempt information, the NRC will take appropriate action in accordance with § 9.25(f).
(f) *Determinations to grant or deny administrative appeals.* (1) The Chief Information Officer, or their delegate, will act on the appeal, except that the Inspector General will act on any appeal where the Assistant Inspector General for Investigations has made the initial determination being appealed; and the Secretary of the Commission, or their delegate, will act on any appeal where the Deputy Secretary of the Commission or General Counsel has made the decision being appealed.
(2) The official authorized to act on an appeal will decide whether to reverse the initial determination (in whole or in part), or to remand the initial determination to the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Officer for further action, and will notify the requester of this decision in writing within 20 working days, as defined in § 9.3, after the date of receipt of the appeal, unless extended pursuant to § 9.26(d) and (f).
(3) If the appeal is denied (in whole or in part), the requester will be:
(i) Notified in writing of the denial;
(ii) Notified of the reasons for the denial, including which of the FOIA exemptions were relied upon;
(iii) Notified of the name and title or position of the official responsible for the determination on appeal;
(iv) Provided with a statement that judicial review of the denial is available in the United States District Court for the judicial district in which the requester resides or has a principal place of business, the judicial district in which the requested records are located, or the District of Columbia in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B); and
(v) Provided with notification that dispute resolution services are available to the requester as a non-exclusive alternative to litigation through the Office of Government Information Services in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(h)(3). Dispute resolution is a voluntary process. If the NRC agrees to participate in the dispute resolution services provided by the Office of Government Information Services, it will actively engage as a partner to the process in an attempt to resolve the dispute. See § 9.30 for OGIS contact information.
(4) If an initial determination is remanded or modified on appeal, the requester will be notified of that determination in writing. The NRC will then further process the request in accordance with that appeal determination and will respond directly to the requester.
(g) *When an appeal is required.* Before seeking review by a court of an adverse determination, a requester generally must first submit a timely administrative appeal.
(h) *Adjudication of administrative appeals of requests in litigation.* An appeal ordinarily will not be adjudicated if the request becomes a matter of FOIA litigation.