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Department	of	Education

Family	Policy	Compliance	Office

Family	Educational	Rights	and	Privacy	Act	(FERPA)

Complaint Form

The Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) is the office responsible for administering the 

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). FPCO provides technical assistance to 

educational agencies and institutions to improve their understanding of and ensure their compliance 

with requirements concerning student education records under FERPA. FPCO also reviews, 

investigates, and processes complaints of alleged violations of FERPA filed by parents and eligible 

students. FPCO’s authority to investigate, review, and process complaints extends to allegations of 

violations of FERPA of any recipient of Federal Department of Education funds under a program 

administered by the Secretary (e.g., schools, school districts, postsecondary institutions, state 

educational agencies, and student loan guaranty agencies). Generally, FPCO cannot investigate 

complaints against private and parochial elementary and secondary schools as these schools are not 

subject to FERPA, unless such private schools receive federal education funds. As fully

investigating complaints of alleged violations takes time, we ask that you please read carefully all of 

the following information prior to completing and submitting your complaint form. 

Do not use this complaint form to request a response to routine questions about FERPA 

requirements. Such requests should be made through the Department’s Information Resource 

Center by telephone at 1-800-USA-LEARN, FPCO’s Web site, or by email at FERPA@ED.GOV

for school officials and FERPA.CUSTOMER@ED.GOV for parents and eligible students. We 

encourage individuals, where possible, to submit their routine questions through FPCO’s Web Site 

at http://familypolicy.ed.gov.

If you are an individual with limited English proficiency and need additional information, please 

contact the Department’s Information Resource Center by telephone at 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Who	may	file	a	complaint?

The parent of a student or an eligible student that has suffered an alleged violation of his or her 

rights under FERPA may file a complaint. An “eligible student” is a student who has turned 18 or 

enrolls in a postsecondary institution at any age. This means that all of the rights afforded parents 

transfer to the eligible student, including the right to file a complaint. The statute does not provide 

for these rights to be vested in a third party who has not suffered an alleged violation of their rights 

under FERPA. Thus, we require that the parent or eligible student have “standing.” This also means 

that the parent of a postsecondary school student does not have “standing” and may not file a 

complaint regarding an alleged violation of his or her rights or those of the student. If you are not 

the parent of a student or an eligible student filing the complaint, we will notify you that your 

allegation(s) will not be investigated.

What	should	I	do	prior	to	filing	a	complaint?

Please review the following FPCO guidance on our Web site to determine whether FERPA 

protections apply to your situation. 
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 The FERPA General Guidance for Parents (http://familypolicy.ed.gov/content/ferpageneral-guidance-parents)

 The FERPA General Guidance for Eligible Students 

(http://familypolicy.ed.gov/content/ferpa-general-guidance-students)

We also recommend you review our Frequently Asked Questions (http://familypolicy.ed.gov/faqpage/ferpa-parents-and-eligible-students) for more information regarding your rights under FERPA.

Completing an investigation of your complaint can take time. You may wish to contact your local 

educational agency or institution to seek to resolve your concerns in a more timely fashion.

How	soon	after	the	alleged	violation	do	I	need	to	file my	complaint?

You must file your complaint within 180 calendar days after your know or should have known 

about the violation. If your do not file your complaint within this timeframe, you will be notified 

that your allegation(s) will not be investigated.

What	procedures	does	FPCO	use	when	investigating	my	complaint?

If we initiate an investigation, we notify both you and the educational agency or institution. The 

notice includes the substance of your allegations and requests a written response from the 

educational agency or institution addressing the allegations. After completion of an investigation, 

both parties are notified in writing of our findings and the basis of those findings. The FERPA 

complaint resolution process is designed to identify problems with FERPA implementation in 

educational agencies and institutions, to ensure they comply with FERPA requirements and act to 

prevent future violations of FERPA. If a violation is substantiated, we may require specific 

corrective action (e.g., revise policy or procedures, or conduct training) to bring the educational 

agency or institution into compliance with FERPA requirements. When the educational agency or 

institution has completed the required corrective action, FPCO closes the complaint.

What	information	must	I	submit	regarding	my	allegation?

Your FERPA complaint must contain specific allegations of fact giving reasonable cause to believe 

that a FERPA violation has occurred. Item 5 on the complaint form specifically describes the 

information you must provide if you have been denied access to the student’s education records, if 

the student’s education records were improperly disclosed, or if your complaint involves requested 

amendment of education records.

How	do	I	file	a	complaint	of	a	violation	of	my	FERPA	rights?

If, after carefully reviewing the guidance, you believe you do have a timely allegation of a school’s 

failure to comply with your rights under FERPA, you should complete this fillable complaint form 

in its entirety. Please help us assist you in a timelier manner by outlining the relevant facts clearly 

and succinctly. If you have difficulty submitting the form electronically, it may be printed and 

mailed to FPCO at: 

Family Policy Compliance Office

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20202-8520. 
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If possible, we request that you type your responses on to the fillable form as opposed to 

handwriting your responses. Also, limit your responses to the space provided and only submit 

the requested information supporting your allegation. You will be contacted if additional 

information or supporting documentation is needed.
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Notice	about	Investigatory	Uses	of	Personal	Information

To resolve your complaint, FPCO may need to collect and analyze personal information such as 

your child’s or your education records, or in some instances the education records of other students 

supplied to us by the school that are pertinent to the investigation and resolution of the complaint. 

Please note that no law requires you to provide FPCO with your personal information. 

Furthermore, complainants, other persons such as other family members, witnesses, or other 

persons are not required by FEPRA to provide information during the complaint resolution process. 

(Please note that these statements do not apply to the educational agency or institution that is the 

target of the complaint as they are expected to fully cooperate with the investigation.) However, if 

FPCO does not receive the information needed to resolve your complaint, it may be necessary to 

close the complaint and issue findings based on incomplete information. 

The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552, governs the protection of personally id entifying 

information contained in records in “systems of records” maintained by Federal agencies, including 

the U.S. Department of Education. The Privacy Act protects individuals from the misuse of 

personal information held by the Federal government. It applies to records that are kept and can be 

located by the individual’s name, social security number, or other personal identifier. It regulates 

the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of certain personal information in the files of 

Federal agencies. 

FPCO may disclose information without your consent under one of the 11 instances defined in the 

Department’s Privacy Act regulation at 34 C.F.R. § 5b.9(b). The cited regulation can be accessed 

online at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_98/34cfr5b_98.html. For instance, FPCO 

may disclose information without your consent to other employees in the Department of Education 

with a “need to know” to perform their job duties. The Department also has published a system of 

records notice that covers FERPA complaints that permits FPCO to make any of 9 published 

“routine use” disclosures without your consent which can be found at:

http://www2.ed.gov/notices/pai/pai-18-05-02.pdf.

One such routine use disclosure permits FPCO to disclose information without your consent to 

educational agencies and institutions against which your complaint was filed in order to resolve 

your complaint. In other words, FPCO may need to reveal certain information to officials at your 

school, to verify facts or gather additional information related to your complaint. A second 

published routine use disclosure permits FPCO to disclose your information, without your consent, 

to a Member of Congress who inquired into your complaint at your request. 

Paperwork Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such 

collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. The 

time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average one hour per response, including the time to review 

instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you 

have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please 

write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4536. If you have comments or concerns regarding the 

status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Family Policy Compliance Office, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20202-8520. 
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Department of Education

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act Complaint Form

Mail to: U.S. Department of Education

Family Policy Compliance Office  400 Maryland Ave, SW  Washington, DC 20202-8520

1. YOUR INFORMATION

First name Last name

Address Contact phone

( ) 

City State Zip Email (optional)

Your relationship to the student whose education records are the subject of this complaint

 Parent or legal guardian 

 Self. I am an eligible student. (provide date of birth below) 

 Other (such as an attorney representing the parent or eligible student). 

Explain:_________________________________________________________________________________________

2. INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDENT WHOSE RECORDS ARE THE SUBJECT OF THIS COMPLAINT

First name Last name Date of birth

3. INFORMATION ABOUT THE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY OR INSTITUTION 

Name and title of the superintendent of the school district or president of the college or university, or of the State educational agency 

(SEA) official if alleging denial to inspect and review education records maintained by the SEA. 

Name of educational agency or institution (e.g., school district or university) School official’s phone number

( ) 

Mailing address Dates the student attended

City State Zip Date of the claimed violation

Name and title of any school official you have contacted in an attempt to resolve this matter

4. WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THE FERPA VIOLATION ALLEGED?

The educational agency or institution listed in section 3 above (check as appropriate) -



(a) denied me the right to inspect and review education records. Continue to 5(a)



(b) disclosed the student’s education records or personally 

identifiable information from those records.

Continue to 5(b)



(c) denied me the opportunity to request correction or deletion of

inaccurate or misleading information in an education record or 

the opportunity to append a statement to that education record 

after a hearing.

Continue to 5(c)

OMB control 

#1875-xxxx
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5. INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR ALLEGATION

(a) If you have been denied access to the student’s education records: (1) list the records you requested, (2) 

indicate that the institution or agency maintains the requested records and how the records are 

maintained (if known), (3) provide the date(s) and means by which you requested access (include a copy 

of any documentation of the request, if available), (4) indicate the name and position of the individual(s)

to whom you made the request for access to records, (5) describe any response received to your request

(include a copy of any written response), or any actions taken by the educational agency or institution in 

response to your request.

(b) If the student’s education records were improperly disclosed, indicate specifically (1) what information 

was disclosed and when, (2) whether this information is recorded in the student’s education records, (3) 

the name and title or job function of the school official who made the disclosure, (4) the individual to 

whom the disclosure was made and relationship, if any, to the school and to the student, (4) the 

circumstances under which the disclosure was made, (5) how and when (date) you became aware of 

the disclosure, (6) a description of any communication between you and the disclosing entity regarding 

this matter (enclose copies of relevant communications).

(c) If your complaint involves requested amendment of education records: (1) describe the records you seek 

to amend, (2) the information you want amended and the specific correction you requested, (3) the 

reason you believe the record is inaccurate or misleading, (4) the date you requested the amendment, 

(5) the name and title of the school official you made the request to, (6) any response received, and (7) 

the result of any hearing held in the matter.

All information (a), (b), or (c) above is required. Limit to the space provided.
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(continued)

6. DESCRIBE ANY CORRESPONDENCE OR AFFIDAVIT SUBMITTED WITH THIS FORM TO SUBSTANTIATE

THE INFORMATION SPECIFICALLY REQUIRED IN 5 ABOVE. Do not submit other information or documentation 

unless it is requested by a FPCO investigator. Submission of extraneous materials may delay FPCO investigation. 

7. CERTIFICATION

I have read and understand the Notice of Investigatory Uses of Personal Information provided with this form. 

I certify that the information I have provided is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature Date