---
kind: "section"
citation: "25 C.F.R. § 81.62"
title: "25"
number: "81.62"
heading: "How is the petition validated?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/25/81.62"
---

# §81.62. How is the petition validated?

- (a) **The Local Bureau Official must—**
  - (1) Confirm the petition has the required number of signatures;
  - (2) Indicate any signatures appearing more than once and include only one in the count;
  - (3) Make recommendations regarding any challenge to the validity of signatures based upon the documentation provided by the challenger; and
  - (4) **Verify the petitioning procedures complied with this Subpart.**
  - (5) Transmit within 45 calendar days of the Official Filing Date the original petition, challenges, and recommendations to the Authorizing Official.
- (b) The Authorizing Official must within 60 calendar days of the Official Filing Date:
  - (1) Determine whether the petition complies with the requirements of this Subpart;
  - (2) Inform the spokesperson for the petitioners and the recognized tribal governing body, in writing, whether the petition is valid, the basis for that determination, and a statement that the decision of the Authorizing Official is a final agency action.
    - (i) If the petition is determined valid for the purposes of calling a Secretarial election, it will be deemed a “tribal request” for the purposes of this part, and the Authorizing Official will instruct the Local Bureau Official to call and conduct the Secretarial election in accordance with [§§ 81.19 through 81.45](/cfr/25/81.19..81.45.md) of subpart D.
    - (ii) If the petition is determined invalid, the Authorizing Official will notify the spokesperson for the petitioners, with a courtesy copy to the tribe's governing body, that the petition was not valid and a Secretarial election will not be called.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: : 25 U.S.C. 473a, 476, 477, as amended, and 503.

### Source

Source: 80 FR 63106, Oct. 19, 2015, unless otherwise noted.