Minors have their own access rights under the Privacy Act. We consider a minor child to be an individual under age 18. A minor can exercise the right of access on his or her own behalf under the Privacy Act. Parental consent is not necessary to comply with an access request by a minor.

If a minor makes an access request, provide the requested records after verifying the minor’s identity and determining the minor is capable of making the request and is able to understand the information. The reviewing SSA employee should make the decision to accept a minor’s access request based on his or her own judgment that the child is capable of understanding the information that they are requesting.

Use age 12 as a baseline for determining when a child is old enough to access their own records. Consider these types of disclosures on a case-by-case basis. A child under 12 years old may not be mature enough to understand the information in their records, while a child over 12 may be able to understand the information. For questions concerning a minor’s right to access their own records, please contact the Office of Privacy and Disclosure.