(a) Burden of proof. The burden of proving injuries and damages rests with the claimant. A claimant may submit for the Administrative Record a statement explaining why the claimant believes that the injuries and damages are compensable and any documentary evidence supporting the claim. Claimants will provide documentation, which is reasonably available, including photographs and video, to corroborate the nature, extent, and value of their injuries and/or to execute affidavits in a form established by the Claims Office. FEMA may compensate a claimant for an injury in the absence of supporting documentation, in its discretion, on the strength of an affidavit or Proof of Loss executed by the claimant, if documentary evidence substantiating the injury is not reasonably available. FEMA may also require an inspection of real property. FEMA may request that a business claimant execute an affidavit, which states that the claimant will provide documentary evidence, including but not limited to income tax returns, if requested by the DHS Office of the Inspector General or the Government Accountability Office during an audit of the claim.

(b) Proof of Loss. All claimants are required to attest to the nature and extent of each injury for which compensation is sought in the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss, which will be in a form specified by the Claims Office, must be signed by the claimant or the claimant's legal representative if the claimant is not an individual or is an individual who lacks the legal capacity to execute the Proof of Loss. The Proof of Loss must be signed under penalty of perjury. Non-subrogation claimants should submit a signed Proof of Loss to the Claims Office not later than 150 days after the date when the Notice of Loss was submitted. This deadline may be extended at the discretion of the Director of the Claims Office for good cause. If a non-subrogation claimant fails to submit a signed Proof of Loss within the timeframes set forth in this section and does not obtain an extension from the Director of the Claims Office, the Claims Office may administratively close the claim and require the claimant to repay any partial payments made on the claim. Subrogation claimants will submit the Proof of Loss contemporaneously with filing the Notice of Loss.

(c) Release and Certification Form. All claimants who receive compensation under the Act are required to sign a Release and Certification Form, including for partial payments under § 296.33. The Release and Certification Form must be executed by the claimant or the claimant's legal representative if the claimant is an entity or lacks the legal capacity to execute the Release and Certification Form. A Release and Certification Form must be received by the Claims Office before the Claims Office provides payment on the claim. The United States will not attempt to recover compensatory damages paid to a claimant who has executed and returned a Release and Certification Form within the periods provided above, except in the case of fraud or misrepresentation by the claimant or the claimant's representative, failure of the claimant to cooperate with an audit as required by § 296.36 or a material mistake by FEMA.

(d) Authority to settle or compromise claims. Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the Director of the Claims Office may extend an offer to settle or compromise a claim or any portion of a claim at any time during the process outlined in this part, which if accepted by the claimant will be binding on the claimant and on the United States, except that the United States may recover funds improperly paid to a claimant due to fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the claimant or the claimant's representative, a material mistake on FEMA's part or the claimant's failure to cooperate in an audit as required by § 296.36.

(a) FEMA will reimburse claimants for the reasonable costs they incur in providing documentation requested by the Claims Office. FEMA will also reimburse claimants for the reasonable costs they incur in providing appraisals, or other third-party opinions that the Claims Office deems necessary to determine the amount of the claim. FEMA will not reimburse claimants for the cost of appraisals or other third-party opinions not deemed necessary by the Claims Office.

(b) FEMA will provide a lump sum payment for incidental expenses incurred in claims preparation to claimants that are awarded compensatory damages under the Act after a properly executed Release and Certification Form has been returned to the Claims Office. The amount of the lump sum payment will be the greater of $150 or 5% of the Act's compensatory damages and insurance proceeds recovered by the claimant for Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire related injuries (not including the lump sum payment or monies reimbursed under the Act for the purchase of flood insurance) but will not exceed $25,000. Subrogation claimants and claimants whose only Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fire related loss is for flood insurance premiums will not be eligible.

(a) Authorized Official's report. After the Claims Office has evaluated all elements of a claim as stated in the Proof of Loss, the Authorized Official will issue, and provide the claimant with a copy of, the Authorized Official's determination.

(b) Claimant's options upon issuance of the Authorized Official's determination. Not later than 120 days after the date that appears on the Authorized Official's determination, the claimant must either accept the determination by submitting a Release and Certification Form to FEMA and/or initiate an Administrative Appeal in accordance with § 296.41. Claimants must sign the Release and Certification Form to receive payment on their claims (including for partial payments). The claimant will receive payment of compensation awarded by the Authorized Official after FEMA receives the completed Release and Certification Form. If the claimant does not either submit a Release and Certification Form to FEMA or initiate an Administrative Appeal no later than 120 days after the date that appears on the Authorized Official's determination, the claimant will be conclusively presumed to have accepted the Authorized Official's determination. The Director of the Claims Office may modify the deadlines set forth in this subsection at the request of a claimant for good cause shown.

The Claims Office at the request of a claimant may make one or more partial payments on any aspect of a claim that is severable. Receipt by a claimant of a partial payment is contingent on the claimant signing a Release and Certification Form for the severable part of the claim for which partial payment is being made. Acceptance of a partial payment in no way affects a claimant's ability to pursue an Administrative Appeal of the Authorized Official's determination or to pursue other rights afforded by the Act with respect to any portion of a claim for which a Release and Certification Form has not been executed. The Claims Office decision on whether to provide a partial payment cannot be appealed.

A claimant may amend the Notice of Loss to include additional claims at any time before signing a Proof of Loss. After the claimant has submitted a Proof of Loss and before submission of a Release and Certification Form, a claimant may request that the Director of the Claims Office consider one or more injuries not addressed in the Proof of Loss. The request must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Claims Office and received not later than the deadline for filing an Administrative Appeal under § 296.32 or November 14, 2024, whichever is earlier. It must be supported by the claimant's explanation of why the injury was not previously reported. If good cause is found to consider the additional injury, the Director will determine whether compensation is due to the claimant for the Loss under the Administrative Appeal procedures described in § 296.41.

The Director of the Claims Office may reopen a claim if requested to do so by the claimant, notwithstanding the submission of the Release and Certification Form, for the limited purpose of considering issues raised by the request to reopen if, not later than November 14, 2025, the claimant desires heightened risk reduction compensation in accordance with § 296.21(e)(5) or the claimant closed the sale of real property and wishes to present a claim for decrease in the value of the real property under § 296.21(c)(3). Claimants may request to reopen claims where the claimant has incurred additional losses under § 296.21(c)(1) as part of a reconstruction in excess of those previously awarded or the Director of the Claims Office otherwise determines that claimant has demonstrated good cause no later than the deadline established by the Director of the Claims Office as published in the Federal Register and at https://www.fema.gov/hermits-peak.

For purpose of audit and investigation, a claimant will grant the DHS Office of the Inspector General and the Comptroller General of the United States access to any property that is the subject of a claim and to any and all books, documents, papers, and records (including any relevant tax records) maintained by a claimant or under the claimant's control pertaining or relevant to the claim.

Confidential information submitted by individual claimants is protected from disclosure to the extent permitted by the Privacy Act. These protections are described in the Privacy Act Notice provided with the Notice of Loss. Other claimants should consult with FEMA concerning the availability of confidentiality protection under exemptions to the Freedom of Information Act and other applicable laws before submitting confidential, proprietary or trade secret information.