Question:

Does USPAP address the Federal privacy laws? And, if it does, where does it address them?

Response:

Yes, it does.  Due to federal regulatory activity, most notably the Federal Trade Commission’s Final Rule on Privacy of Consumer Financial Information, 16 CFR Part 313, that took effect on July 1, 2001, the ASB edited USPAP to incorporate these laws.

1. The Confidentiality section of the ETHICS RULE illustrates that, an appraiser must be aware of, and comply with, all confidentiality and privacy laws and regulations applicable in an assignment. Additionally, text indicates that disclosure of confidential information is permissible to professional peer review committees, except when such disclosure to a committee would violate applicable law or regulation.
   
   A notice regarding the adoption of federal privacy regulations is also included in this section.

2. The definition of “Confidential Information” reads:

information that is either:

• identified by the client as confidential when providing it to an appraiser and that is not available from any other source; or

• classified as confidential or private by applicable law or regulation.

A notice regarding the adoption of federal privacy regulations is also included in this definition.