Privacy Act Statements
LOW MODERATE HIGHRequirements NIST SOURCE
Include Privacy Act statements on forms that collect information that will be maintained in a Privacy Act system of records, or provide Privacy Act statements on separate forms that can be retained by individuals.
Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)
If a federal agency asks individuals to supply information that will become part of a system of records, the agency is required to provide a PRIVACT statement on the form used to collect the information or on a separate form that can be retained by the individual. The agency provides a PRIVACT statement in such circumstances regardless of whether the information will be collected on a paper or electronic form, on a website, on a mobile application, over the telephone, or through some other medium. This requirement ensures that the individual is provided with sufficient information about the request for information to make an informed decision on whether or not to respond. PRIVACT statements provide formal notice to individuals of the authority that authorizes the solicitation of the information; whether providing the information is mandatory or voluntary; the principal purpose(s) for which the information is to be used; the published routine uses to which the information is subject; the effects on the individual, if any, of not providing all or any part of the information requested; and an appropriate citation and link to the relevant system of records notice. Federal agency personnel consult with the senior agency official for privacy and legal counsel regarding the notice provisions of the PRIVACT.
Implementation Guidance
Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.
No engineering interpretation has been authored for PT-5(2) yet. This section is architected to receive it — see the Requirements and Assessment sections above for the authoritative NIST source content in the meantime.
Assessment
Assessment Objectives
- Privacy Act statements are included on forms that collect information that will be maintained in a Privacy Act system of records, or Privacy Act statements are provided on separate forms that can be retained by individuals.
Examine
[SELECT FROM: Personally identifiable information processing and transparency policy and procedures; privacy notice; Privacy Act system of records; forms that include Privacy Act statements; privacy plan; other relevant documents or records].
Interview
[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with personally identifiable information processing and transparency responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities].
Test
[SELECT FROM: Organizational processes for including Privacy Act statements on forms that collect information or on separate forms that can be retained by individuals].
STIGs & CCIs
No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for PT-5(2). This section is architected to display, per product: STIG ID, Finding ID, Severity, Title, Description, Check, Fix, CCI, and NIST control mapping — but nothing is populated here until a real DISA STIG/CCI dataset is ingested.
Learn more about STIG/CCI integration →Evidence
Categorized from the SP 800-53A "Examine"/"Test" artifact list above by keyword — not an authoritative NIST evidence list.
Policy
- Personally identifiable information processing and transparency policy and procedures
- privacy plan
Testing
- Organizational processes for including Privacy Act statements on forms that collect information or on separate forms that can be retained by individuals
Other Records
- privacy notice
- Privacy Act system of records
- forms that include Privacy Act statements
- other relevant documents or records