§3409 Delayed notice

Summary

A court can order that a customer not be told when the government asks for their bank or other financial records. To do that, the judge must find three things: the government’s investigation is one it can lawfully do, the records are likely important to that investigation, and telling the customer would likely cause serious harm — for example, danger to someone’s safety, the person fleeing, evidence being destroyed or altered, witness intimidation, or otherwise seriously hurting or delaying the investigation or a trial. If the judge agrees, the court can issue a secret order that stops notice for up to 90 days and tells the bank not to disclose the request. In some national-security or foreign-account cases, the court may allow an indefinite delay if notice could endanger lives. The court can extend a delay in additional periods of up to 90 days each if asked. When the delay ends, the customer must be given or mailed a copy of the request and a notice saying when the records were requested, who asked, and why notice was withheld and what the investigation was about. If records were taken in an emergency, the government must tell the customer as soon as possible unless the court had allowed a delay. Any papers filed to get the delay must be kept by the court. The customer can ask to see those papers, and the court may release them unless it still finds the same reasons to keep them secret.