(a) Appeal requirements. If a requester disagrees with the Chief FOIA Officer's determination in response to items specified in § 1662.9, the requester may appeal the decision to the Director of Selective Service. The appeal must meet the following requirements:

(1) Be submitted in writing via the avenues identified in § 1662.7;

(2) Be received within 90 days from the date of the determination the requester is appealing; and

(3) Explain what the requester is appealing and include additional information to support the appeal.

(b) Acknowledgement. The Director of Selective Service acknowledges all appeals in writing within 10 business days after their receipt of the appeal. The acknowledgement is provided via email or, when the requester does not provide an email address, via U.S. postal mail. The acknowledgement email or letter restates the FOIA appeal and provides the requester with the appeal's tracking number.

(c) Processing timeframe. FOIA appeals are categorized as either simple or complex, based on the designation of the initial request.

(1) Simple. Generally, the Director of Selective Service makes a determination about release of the requested record(s) within 20 business days.

(2) Complex. Appeals of complex requests cannot be completed within 20 business days due to unusual circumstances. During the Director of Selective Service's processing of the appeal, they will need to consult with appropriate SSS component(s), including legal counsel; therefore, the Director of Selective Service generally requires more than 20 business days to issue a final decision on the appeal.

(d) Final decision. The Director of Selective Service makes decisions on appeals of the Chief FOIA Officer's determinations.

(1) The Director of Selective Service's final decision is provided in writing to the requester via email or, in the absence of the requester's email address, via U.S. postal mail.

(2) The final decision letter will explain the basis of the decision (for example, the reasons why an exemption applies).

(e) Disagreement with final decision. If a requester disagrees with the final decision issued by the Director of Selective Service, they may seek assistance from OGIS, as described in § 1662.15. Requesters may also ask a U.S. District Court to review the Director of Selective Service's final decision. See 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B).