Information

Information means any statement or estimate of fact or opinion, regardless of form or format, whether in numerical, graphic, or narrative form, and whether oral or maintained on paper, electronic or other media. Information does not generally include items in the following categories; however, OMB may determine that any specific item constitutes information:
(1) Affidavits, oaths, affirmations, certifications, receipts, changes of address, consents, or acknowledgments; provided that they entail no burden other than that necessary to identify the respondent, the date, the respondent's address, and the nature of the instrument (by contrast, a certification would likely involve the collection of “information” if an agency conducted or sponsored it as a substitute for a collection of information to collect evidence of, or to monitor, compliance with regulatory standards, because such a certification would generally entail burden in addition to that necessary to identify the respondent, the date, the respondent's address, and the nature of the instrument);
(2) Samples of products or of any other physical objects;
(3) Facts or opinions obtained through direct observation by an employee or agent of the sponsoring agency or through nonstandardized oral communication in connection with such direct observations;
(4) Facts or opinions submitted in response to general solicitations of comments from the public, published in the Federal Register or other publications, regardless of the form or format thereof, provided that no person is required to supply specific information pertaining to the commenter, other than that necessary for self-identification, as a condition of the agency's full consideration of the comment;
(5) Facts or opinions obtained initially or in follow-on requests, from individuals (including individuals in control groups) under treatment or clinical examination in connection with research on or prophylaxis to prevent a clinical disorder, direct treatment of that disorder, or the interpretation of biological analyses of body fluids, tissues, or other specimens, or the identification or classification of such specimens;
(6) A request for facts or opinions addressed to a single person;
(7) Examinations designed to test the aptitude, abilities, or knowledge of the persons tested and the collection of information for identification or classification in connection with such examinations;
(8) Facts or opinions obtained or solicited at or in connection with public hearings or meetings;
(9) Facts or opinions obtained or solicited through nonstandardized follow-up questions designed to clarify responses to approved collections of information; and
(10) Like items so designated by OMB.
(i) OMB refers to the Office of Management and Budget.
(j) Penalty includes the imposition by an agency or court of a fine or other punishment; a judgment for monetary damages or equitable relief; or the revocation, suspension, reduction, or denial of a license, privilege, right, grant, or benefit.
(k) Person means an individual, partnership, association, corporation (including operations of government-owned contractor-operated facilities), business trust, or legal representative, an organized group of individuals, a State, territorial, tribal, or local government or branch thereof, or a political subdivision of a State, territory, tribal, or local government or a branch of a political subdivision;
(l) Practical utility means the actual, not merely the theoretical or potential, usefulness of information to or for an agency, taking into account its accuracy, validity, adequacy, and reliability, and the agency's ability to process the information it collects (or a person's ability to receive and process that which is disclosed, in the case of a third-party or public disclosure) in a useful and timely fashion. In determining whether information will have “practical utility,” OMB will take into account whether the agency demonstrates actual timely use for the information either to carry out its functions or make it available to third-parties or the public, either directly or by means of a third-party or public posting, notification, labeling, or similar disclosure requirement, for the use of persons who have an interest in entities or transactions over which the agency has jurisdiction. In the case of recordkeeping requirements or general purpose statistics (see § 1320.3(c)(3)), “practical utility” means that actual uses can be demonstrated.
(m) Recordkeeping requirement means a requirement imposed by or for an agency on persons to maintain specified records, including a requirement to:
(1) Retain such records;
(2) Notify third parties, the Federal government, or the public of the existence of such records;
(3) Disclose such records to third parties, the Federal government, or the public; or
(4) Report to third parties, the Federal government, or the public regarding such records.

Source

5 CFR § 1320.3


Scoping language

For purposes of implementing the Act and this Part, the following terms are defined as follows:

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