Does anyone have examples or good definition of an "administrative subpoena" that would be subject to the certification requirements of the RFPA ... it seems like the exceptions almost swallow the rule.

An example might be where the Department of Agriculture is investigating some sort of agriculture scam within their jurisdiction and they subpoena financial records of individuals who are not currently parties to an administrative proceeding.

Frankly, administrative subpoenas that are not exempt from the RFPA are not terribly common. As you noted, many types of administrative subpoenas and summonses are subject to exceptions in the RFPA. (see Section 3413 of Title 12) The most notable would be the IRS summonses which are governed by procedures in Title 26, rather than the RFPA.

The other major exception is where the federal government authority seeking the records and the customer whose records are sought are both parties. In that instance, the law says there is an exception to the notice and right to challenge procedures in the RFPA if the subpoena is an administrative subpena issued by an administrative law judge in an adjudicatory proceeding subject to section 554 of title 5 (federal administrative procedures statute) and to which the Government authority and the customer are parties.

When you receive an administrative subpoena or summons, to determine whether the RFPA applies, you must go through this type of analysis:

1. Is it from a federal government authority?
2. Does it pertain to financial records of a "customer" as defined in the RFPA?
3. Has the customer consented to the records release with a valid consent under RFPA?
4. If the answers to 1 & 2 above are "yes" and 3 is "no", you go through each exception to determine whether or not one would be applicable.

If all else fails, it never hurts to ask the agency to give you counsel's opinion citing the RFPA exception that applies to the request at hand.