USDA 502 Direct · Private information
Data security
protocol
The pre-application for USDA 100% financing carries Social Security numbers and financial details. This page states exactly what AGAPE FOUNDATION INC collects, how it is protected, where it goes, how long it is kept, and what you can ask us to do with it.
1 · Scope
What this protocol covers
It applies to the Home Loan Pre-Screen submitted through application.html and to the same information sent to us on paper or by email. It covers every field in that form, including your name, address, date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN), contact details, household composition, income, debts, assets and the release authorisations you sign.
Why an SSN is requested at all
USDA’s Rural Housing Service requires a Social Security Number to verify identity, income and credit. You may decline to give it, but USDA’s own Privacy Act notice states that failing to provide it may delay or result in rejection of an application. AGAPE collects it only to prepare your USDA package and never for any other purpose.
2 · Technical controls
How the information is protected in transit and at rest
| Control | What is actually done |
|---|---|
| Encryption in transit | The form page and the submission endpoint are served over HTTPS only (TLS). The browser sends your answers with an encrypted POST; there is no unencrypted fallback and no plain-HTTP address for the form. |
| Direct delivery, no middleman | The submission goes to AGAPE’s own application endpoint on this website and is then delivered by TLS-encrypted mail to CRJSR@agape-intl.org. There is no third-party form builder, no CRM, no list-builder, and no data broker in the path. |
| No storage on the web tier | The endpoint validates your entry, relays it, and retains no copy: no database row, no file, no draft, no queue on disk. The submission exists only in the server’s memory for the moment of delivery and in the AGAPE mailbox it is delivered to. |
| Sensitive data kept out of logs | Social Security numbers, dates of birth and financial values are never written to application logs, error reports or monitoring records. Logs record only a neutral reference identifier and a delivery result. |
| No tracking, no advertising | The application form page loads no analytics, no advertising or social scripts, and no third-party fonts. It sets no cookies and stores nothing in your browser’s local storage. It is excluded from search indexing and from this site’s sitemap. |
| Hardened submission path | The endpoint accepts only this site’s own submissions, caps request size, rate-limits repeated attempts, silently discards automated bot submissions, and validates field formats (including SSN pattern) before anything is sent. |
| Browser-side hygiene | Sensitive fields are marked so that browsers do not store, autofill or spell-check them, and SSNs are never placed in the page address, so they do not appear in browser history or in shared links. |
| Mailbox and access control | Only authorised AGAPE personnel with a legitimate role in the pre-screen process have access to CRJSR@agape-intl.org. That mailbox must use multi-factor authentication, encrypted device storage and screen locking. Volunteers and staff handle pre-screen information under a confidentiality obligation. |
3 · Use, sharing and retention
What we do with it, and how long we keep it
Use
We use your information only to prepare your USDA Section 502 Direct pre-screen package, to confirm eligibility factors with you, and to forward your package to USDA Rural Development with your authorisation.
Sharing
We share it with USDA Rural Development under the authorisations you sign (verified income, bank balances, landlord references, credit) and with anyone you name in Section 9 of the form. We do not sell it, and we do not disclose it for advertising, marketing or any unrelated purpose.
Retention
Your pre-screen is kept only as long as it is needed to complete and support the USDA pre-screen process. AGAPE’s practice is to destroy pre-screen records 24 months after the file is closed or after you ask us to, whichever comes first, unless USDA or law requires otherwise.
Your rights
You may ask to see the information we hold, have it corrected, have it deleted, or withdraw your consent to future contact at any time. Write to CRJSR@agape-intl.org; we respond within 30 days and deleting your pre-screen does not affect anything already filed with USDA.
Minors
Do not enter a child’s Social Security Number. The form asks for SSNs only for adults aged 18 and over. Household composition for minors is recorded by name and age alone.
Breach response
If a security incident affects your information, AGAPE notifies affected applicants without undue delay, states what happened and what data was involved, and reports it to the appropriate authorities.
4 · Honest limits
What you should know before you submit
Email is the delivery channel USDA itself uses
USDA Tennessee’s own instructions ask applicants to return the pre-screen and releases “by mail or email”. Delivering your pre-screen to an AGAPE mailbox is the same practice, protected by TLS in transit and by access control at the destination. The residual risk is at the destination — whoever holds that mailbox can read what is in it — so the mailbox is restricted to authorised staff with multi-factor authentication, and records are destroyed on the schedule above.
You can always use paper or USDA direct instead
You are never required to use this website. Download the USDA Tennessee pre-screen package (PDF), complete it by hand, and return it by post to USDA – Tennessee Rural Development, SFH Intake, 441 Donelson Pike, Suite 310, Nashville, TN 37214, or contact USDA directly at 615-783-1300 or SM.RD.TN.SFHDirect@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
What this protocol is not
This page describes AGAPE FOUNDATION INC’s handling of the information you give AGAPE. USDA’s own collection, use and disclosure of your information is governed by USDA’s Privacy Act notice in the package you sign, not by this page. AGAPE is not a government agency, is not affiliated with USDA, and does not decide eligibility.
Questions about your data
CRJSR@agape-intl.org
Ask for a copy, a correction or deletion of your pre-screen, or a paper form. Requests are answered within 30 days.