(a) If an applicant requests a personal appearance discharge review, or to be represented in absentia, the NDRB shall provide a hearing in the NCR or at another site within the forty-eight contiguous states.

(b) The NDRB shall subsequently notify the applicant and representative (if any) in writing of the proposed personal appearance hearing time and place. This notice shall normally be mailed thirty to sixty days prior to the date of the hearing. If the applicant elects, this time limit may be waived and an earlier date set.

(c) When an applicant requests a documentary review, the NDRB shall undertake the review as soon as practicable. Normally, documentary reviews shall be conducted in the order in which they are received.