NARA may undertake an inspection when an agency fails to address specific records management problems involving high risk to significant records. Problems may be identified through a risk assessment or through other means, such as reports in the media, Congressional inquiries, allegations of unauthorized destruction, reports issued by the GAO or an agency's Inspector General, or observations by NARA staff members. Inspections will be undertaken when other NARA program assistance efforts (see § 1239.10) have failed to mitigate situations where there is a high risk of loss of significant records, or when NARA agrees to a request from the agency head that NARA conduct an inspection to address specific significant records management issues in the agency. NARA reports to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget on inspections in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 2904.

(a) Once NARA identifies the need to conduct an agency inspection, the Archivist of the United States sends a letter to the head of the agency. If the agency being inspected is a component of a cabinet department, the letter will be addressed to the head of the component, with a copy sent to the head of the department. NARA will also send copies to the agency's records officer. The letter will include:

(1) Notification that NARA intends to conduct an inspection, the records that will be inspected, and the issues to be addressed;

(2) A beginning date for the inspection that is no more than 30 days after the date of the letter; and

(3) A request that the agency appoint a point of contact who will assist NARA in conducting the inspection.

(b) If the agency does not respond to NARA's notification letter, NARA will use its statutory authority under 44 U.S.C. 2904(c)(8) to report the matter to the agency's congressional oversight committee and to the Office of Management and Budget.

(a) The NARA inspection team leader will coordinate with the agency point of contact to arrange an initial meeting with the agency. The initial meeting will address such matters as the parameters of the inspection, any surveys or other inspection instruments, the offices to be visited, and the timing of site visits.

(b) After the inspection is complete, NARA will prepare a draft inspection report and transmit it to the agency within 45 calendar days of the last site visit. The report will include:

(1) An executive summary;

(2) Background and purpose of inspection;

(3) Inspection methodology, including offices visited;

(4) Findings;

(5) Corrective actions needed and other recommendations; and

(6) Any necessary appendixes, such as summaries of each site visit or the inspection instrument.

(c) The draft report is sent to the agency for review, with a response deadline of 45 days.

(d) NARA will incorporate any necessary corrections or revisions in the final report and issue the report to the head of the agency within 45 days.

The agency must submit a plan of corrective action that specifies how the agency will address each inspection report recommendation, including a timeline for completion, and proposed progress reporting dates. The agency must submit the plan of corrective action to NARA within 60 days of transmission of the final report. NARA may take up to 60 days to review and comment on the plan. Once the plan is agreed upon by both sides, agencies must submit progress reports to NARA until all actions are completed.