Regulations Guiding NASS

Functions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statistics Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture Directives

Conduct the Census of Agriculture

Confidentiality of Information and Data Security

Collection of Agricultural Production and Price Data

Collection of Environmental and Water Quality Data

Research and International Programs

Cooperative Agreements

Penalties for Disclosure and False Reports

Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, provides that any person has the right to request access to Federal documents and other information. Agencies of the Federal Government are required to disclose documents after receiving a FOIA request for them, unless those documents are protected from disclosure by one of nine exemptions of the FOIA. The Privacy Act (PA), 5 U.S.C. 552a, protects individuals against clearly unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy. The PA informs individuals as to what information is maintained on them and where the information is stored. The PA allows individuals to access documents maintained in a PA System of Records (records retrievable by an individual's name or other personal identifier assigned to that individual) and to request amendments to the records.

If you are interested in obtaining documents maintained by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), you will find information on accessing both FOIA and non-FOIA records on the REE Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Guide website. This website is a reference guide that outlines specific procedures for making FOIA and/or PA requests to the Research, Education, and Economic agencies, which includes NASS.

If you have any questions, please contact the REE FOIA Office at REEFOIA@ars.usda.gov.

National Agricultural Statistics Service Data and Freedom of Information Act Requests - addresses concerns raised about disclosures of producer-level information collected by NASS on its surveys and censuses.

Last Modified: 12/05/2023