---
kind: "section"
citation: "36 C.F.R. § 1222.20"
title: "36"
number: "1222.20"
heading: "How are personal files defined and managed?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/36/1222.20"
---

# §1222.20. How are personal files defined and managed?

- (a) Personal files are defined in [§ 1220.18](/cfr/36/1220.18.md) of this subchapter. This section does not apply to agencies and positions that are covered by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 ([44 U.S.C. 2201-2207](/usc/44/2201-2207.md)) (see [36 CFR part 1270](/cfr/36/part1270.md) of this chapter).
- (b) Personal files must be clearly designated as such and must be maintained separately from the office's official records.
  - (1) Information about private (non-agency) matters and agency business must not be mixed in outgoing agency documents, such as correspondence and messages.
  - (2) If information about private matters and agency business appears in a received document, the document is a Federal record. Agencies may make a copy of the document with the personal information deleted or redacted, and treat the copy as the Federal record.
  - (3) Materials labeled “personal,” “confidential,” or “private,” or similarly designated, and used in the transaction of public business, are Federal records. The use of a label such as “personal” does not affect the status of documentary materials in a Federal agency.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 2904, 3101, 3102, and 3301.

### Source

Source: 74 FR 51014, Oct. 2, 2009, unless otherwise noted.