Title 15 — Commerce and TradeRelease 119-73
§21 Enforcement provisions
Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - MONOPOLIES AND COMBINATIONS IN RESTRAINT OF TRADE › § 21
Summary
Gives specific federal agencies the power to enforce the rules in sections 13, 14, 18, and 19. The Surface Transportation Board enforces for certain rail carriers (subtitle IV of title 49). The Federal Communications Commission enforces for carriers using wire or radio. The Secretary of Transportation enforces for air carriers (part A of subtitle VII of title 49). The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System enforces for banks. The Federal Trade Commission enforces for other kinds of commerce. If an agency thinks someone broke these rules, it must send that person and the Attorney General a written complaint and a hearing date at least 30 days later. The person can appear at the hearing and explain why they should not be ordered to stop. The Attorney General may join the case. Others may ask to join if they show good reason. Testimony is put in writing. If the agency finds a violation, it writes its findings and orders the person to stop. The agency may also require selling stock or assets or removing directors that violate sections 18 or 19. The agency may change or cancel its order before the court record is filed, and it may reopen the case later after notice and a hearing if facts or law change or if the public interest requires it. A person has 60 days after being served with an order to ask a court of appeals to review it. To get review, the person files a written petition in a court of appeals within 60 days. The court gets the agency’s record and can affirm, change, or set aside the agency’s order. The agency’s factual findings stand if they are supported by substantial evidence. The court can allow extra evidence and send it back to the agency to consider. Once the record is filed, only the court of appeals can decide the case. Agency orders do not remove any antitrust liability. The agency may serve papers by hand, by leaving them at a person’s home or main office, or by registered or certified mail; the server’s written return or the mail receipt proves service. An order becomes final if no timely petition is filed, after the appeals and certiorari time limits run, or 30 days after a final Supreme Court mandate. Anyone who disobeys a final order while it is in effect must pay up to $5,000 for each violation. Each day of continued disobedience counts as a separate violation.
Full Legal Text
Title 15, §21
Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Authority to enforce compliance with section 13, 14, 18, and 19 of this title by the persons respectively subject thereto is vested in the Surface Transportation Board where applicable to common carriers subject to jurisdiction under subtitle IV of title 49; in the Federal Communications Commission where applicable to common carriers engaged in wire or radio communication or radio transmission of energy; in the Secretary of Transportation where applicable to air carriers and foreign air carriers subject to part A of subtitle VII of title 49; in the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System where applicable to banks, banking associations, and trust companies; and in the Federal Trade Commission where applicable to all other character of commerce to be exercised as follows:
(b)Whenever the Commission, Board, or Secretary vested with jurisdiction thereof shall have reason to believe that any person is violating or has violated any of the provisions of section 13, 14, 18, and 19 of this title, it shall issue and serve upon such person and the Attorney General a complaint stating its charges in that respect, and containing a notice of a hearing upon a day and at a place therein fixed at least thirty days after the service of said complaint. The person so complained of shall have the right to appear at the place and time so fixed and show cause why an order should not be entered by the Commission, Board, or Secretary requiring such person to cease and desist from the violation of the law so charged in said complaint. The Attorney General shall have the right to intervene and appear in said proceeding and any person may make application, and upon good cause shown may be allowed by the Commission, Board, or Secretary, to intervene and appear in said proceeding by counsel or in person. The testimony in any such proceeding shall be reduced to writing and filed in the office of the Commission, Board, or Secretary. If upon such hearing the Commission, Board, or Secretary, as the case may be, shall be of the opinion that any of the provisions of said sections have been or are being violated, it shall make a report in writing, in which it shall state its findings as to the facts, and shall issue and cause to be served on such person an order requiring such person to cease and desist from such violations, and divest itself of the stock, or other share capital, or assets, held or rid itself of the directors chosen contrary to the provisions of section 18 and 19 of this title, if any there be, in the manner and within the time fixed by said order. Until the expiration of the time allowed for filing a petition for review, if no such petition has been duly filed within such time, or, if a petition for review has been filed within such time then until the record in the proceeding has been filed in a court of appeals of the United States, as hereinafter provided, the Commission, Board, or Secretary may at any time, upon such notice and in such manner as it shall deem proper, modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any report or any order made or issued by it under this section. After the expiration of the time allowed for filing a petition for review, if no such petition has been duly filed within such time, the Commission, Board, or Secretary may at any time, after notice and opportunity for hearing, reopen and alter, modify, or set aside, in whole or in part, any report or order made or issued by it under this section, whenever in the opinion of the Commission, Board, or Secretary conditions of fact or of law have so changed as to require such action or if the public interest shall so require: Provided, however, That the said person may, within sixty days after service upon him or it of said report or order entered after such a reopening, obtain a review thereof in the appropriate court of appeals of the United States, in the manner provided in subsection (c) of this section.
(c)Any person required by such order of the commission, board, or Secretary to cease and desist from any such violation may obtain a review of such order in the court of appeals of the United States for any circuit within which such violation occurred or within which such person resides or carries on business, by filing in the court, within sixty days after the date of the service of such order, a written petition praying that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary be set aside. A copy of such petition shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to the commission, board, or Secretary, and thereupon the commission, board, or Secretary shall file in the court the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112 of title 28. Upon such filing of the petition the court shall have jurisdiction of the proceeding and of the question determined therein concurrently with the commission, board, or Secretary until the filing of the record, and shall have power to make and enter a decree affirming, modifying, or setting aside the order of the commission, board, or Secretary, and enforcing the same to the extent that such order is affirmed, and to issue such writs as are ancillary to its jurisdiction or are necessary in its judgment to prevent injury to the public or to competitors pendente lite. The findings of the commission, board, or Secretary as to the facts, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. To the extent that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary is affirmed, the court shall issue its own order commanding obedience to the terms of such order of the commission, board, or Secretary. If either party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the commission, board, or Secretary, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the commission, board, or Secretary, and to be adduced upon the hearing in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as to the court may seem proper. The commission, board, or Secretary may modify its findings as to the facts, or make new findings, by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and shall file such modified or new findings, which if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, and its recommendation, if any, for the modification or setting aside of its original order, with the return of such additional evidence. The judgment and decree of the court shall be final, except that the same shall be subject to review by the Supreme Court upon certiorari, as provided in section 1254 of title 28.
(d)Upon the filing of the record with its jurisdiction of the court of appeals to affirm, enforce, modify, or set aside orders of the commission, board, or Secretary shall be exclusive.
(e)No order of the commission, board, or Secretary or judgment of the court to enforce the same shall in anywise relieve or absolve any person from any liability under the antitrust laws.
(f)Complaints, orders, and other processes of the commission, board, or Secretary under this section may be served by anyone duly authorized by the commission, board, or Secretary, either (1) by delivering a copy thereof to the person to be served, or to a member of the partnership to be served, or to the president, secretary, or other executive officer or a director of the corporation to be served; or (2) by leaving a copy thereof at the residence or the principal office or place of business of such person; or (3) by mailing by registered or certified mail a copy thereof addressed to such person at his or its residence or principal office or place of business. The verified return by the person so serving said complaint, order, or other process setting forth the manner of said service shall be proof of the same, and the return post office receipt for said complaint, order, or other process mailed by registered or certified mail as aforesaid shall be proof of the service of the same.
(g)Any order issued under subsection (b) shall become final—
(1)upon the expiration of the time allowed for filing a petition for review, if no such petition has been duly filed within such time; but the commission, board, or Secretary may thereafter modify or set aside its order to the extent provided in the last sentence of subsection (b); or
(2)upon the expiration of the time allowed for filing a petition for certiorari, if the order of the commission, board, or Secretary has been affirmed, or the petition for review has been dismissed by the court of appeals, and no petition for certiorari has been duly filed; or
(3)upon the denial of a petition for certiorari, if the order of the commission, board, or Secretary has been affirmed or the petition for review has been dismissed by the court of appeals; or
(4)upon the expiration of thirty days from the date of issuance of the mandate of the Supreme Court, if such Court directs that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary be affirmed or the petition for review be dismissed.
(h)If the Supreme Court directs that the order of the commission, board, or Secretary be modified or set aside, the order of the commission, board, or Secretary rendered in accordance with the mandate of the Supreme Court shall become final upon the expiration of thirty days from the time it was rendered, unless within such thirty days either party has instituted proceedings to have such order corrected to accord with the mandate, in which event the order of the commission, board, or Secretary shall become final when so corrected.
(i)If the order of the commission, board, or Secretary is modified or set aside by the court of appeals, and if (1) the time allowed for filing a petition for certiorari has expired and no such petition has been duly filed, or (2) the petition for certiorari has been denied, or (3) the decision of the court has been affirmed by the Supreme Court then the order of the commission, board, or Secretary rendered in accordance with the mandate of the court of appeals shall become final on the expiration of thirty days from the time such order of the commission, board, or Secretary was rendered, unless within such thirty days either party has instituted proceedings to have such order corrected so that it will accord with the mandate, in which event the order of the commission, board, or Secretary shall become final when so corrected.
(j)If the Supreme Court orders a rehearing; or if the case is remanded by the court of appeals to the commission, board, or Secretary for a rehearing, and if (1) the time allowed for filing a petition for certiorari has expired, and no such petition has been duly filed, or (2) the petition for certiorari has been denied, or (3) the decision of the court has been affirmed by the Supreme Court, then the order of the commission, board, or Secretary rendered upon such rehearing shall become final in the same manner as though no prior order of the commission, board, or Secretary had been rendered.
(k)As used in this section the term “mandate”, in case a mandate has been recalled prior to the expiration of thirty days from the date of issuance thereof, means the final mandate.
(l)Any person who violates any order issued by the commission, board, or Secretary under subsection (b) after such order has become final, and while such order is in effect, shall forfeit and pay to the United States a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation, which shall accrue to the United States and may be recovered in a civil action brought by the United States. Each separate violation of any such order shall be a separate offense, except that in the case of a violation through continuing failure or neglect to obey a final order of the commission, board, or Secretary each day of continuance of such failure or neglect shall be deemed a separate offense.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The antitrust laws, referred to in subsec. (e), are defined in section 12 of this title. Codification In subsec. (a), “part A of subtitle VII of title 49” substituted for “the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 [49 App. U.S.C. 1301 et seq.]” on authority of Pub. L. 103–272, § 6(b), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1378, the first section of which enacted subtitles II, III, and V to X of Title 49.
Amendments
1995—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–88 substituted “Surface Transportation Board where applicable to common carriers subject to jurisdiction under subtitle IV of title 49” for “Interstate Commerce Commission where applicable to common carriers subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended”. 1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(m)(1), substituted “Secretary of Transportation where applicable to air carriers and foreign air carriers subject to the Federal Aviation Act of 1958” for “Civil Aeronautics Board where applicable to air carriers and foreign air carriers subject to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(m)(2), substituted “Commission, Board, or Secretary” for “Commission or Board” wherever appearing. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(m)(3), substituted “commission, board, or Secretary” for “commission or board” wherever appearing. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 98–620 struck out provision that such proceedings in the court of appeals had to be given precedence over other cases pending therein, and had to be in every way expedited. Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(m)(3), substituted “commission, board, or Secretary” for “commission or board”. Subsecs. (f) to (j), (l). Pub. L. 98–443, § 9(m)(3), substituted “commission, board, or Secretary” for “commission or board” wherever appearing. 1959—Pub. L. 86–107 amended section generally, and among other changes, authorized the Commission or Board, upon notice and opportunity for hearing, in cases where a petition for review has not been filed within the time allowed, to reopen and alter, modify, or set aside, in whole or in part, any report or order, whenever conditions of fact or law have so changed as to require such action or if the public interest so requires, and added subsecs. (g) to (k), providing for finality of orders, and subsec. (l), prescribing the civil penalty for violation of orders. 1958—Pub. L. 85–791, § 4(a), struck out “a transcript of” after “Until” in last sentence of second par. Pub. L. 85–791, § 4(b), substituted in first sentence of third par., “file the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112 of title 28” for “certify and file with its application a transcript of the entire record in the proceeding, including all the testimony taken and the report and order of the Commission or Board”, and in second sentence of third par., struck out “and transcript” after “application”, inserted “concurrently with the Commission or Board until the filing of the record”, and struck out “upon the pleadings, testimony, and proceedings set forth in such transcript” after “make and enter”. Pub. L. 85–791, § 4(c), substituted in second sentence of fourth par., “transmitted by the clerk of the court to” for “served upon” and “shall file in the court the record in the proceeding, as provided in section 2112 of title 28” for “forthwith shall certify and file in the court a transcript of the record in the proceeding, as hereinbefore provided”, and in third sentence of fourth paragraph substituted “such petition” for “the transcript” and inserted “determined as provided in section 1009(e) of title 5,”. Pub. L. 85–791, § 4(d), substituted in fifth par., “Upon the filing of the record with it the” for “The”. 1950—Act Dec. 29, 1950, amended section generally to allow the Attorney General to intervene and appear in any proceeding brought by any Commission or Board to enforce section 13, 14, 18, and 19 of this title, but the amendment in nowise affects the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice to enforce these sections in the courts. 1938—Act
June 23, 1938, inserted “in the Civil Aeronautics Authority where applicable to air carriers and foreign air carriers subject to the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938”, and “authority” after “commission” wherever appearing. 1935—Act Aug. 23, 1935, changed the name of Federal Reserve Board to Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. 1934—Act
June 19, 1934, amended first par.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
Act
June 25, 1948, eff. Sept. 1, 1948, as amended by act
May 24, 1949, substituted “court of appeals” for “circuit court of appeals”.
Effective Date
of 1995 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 1301 of Title 49, Transportation.
Effective Date
of 1984
Amendments
Amendment by Pub. L. 98–620 not applicable to cases pending on Nov. 8, 1984, see section 403 of Pub. L. 98–620, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 1657 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure. Amendment by Pub. L. 98–443 effective Jan. 1, 1985, see section 9(v) of Pub. L. 98–443, set out as a note under section 5314 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
Effective Date
of 1959 Amendment section 2 of Pub. L. 86–107 provided that: “The
Amendments
made by section 1 [amending this section] shall have no application to any proceeding initiated before the date of enactment of this Act [
July 23, 1959] under the third or fourth paragraph of section 11 of the Act entitled ‘An Act to supplement existing laws against unlawful restraints and monopolies, and for other purposes’, approved
October 15, 1914 (38 Stat. 734, as amended; 15 U.S.C. 21) [this section]. Each such proceeding shall be governed by the provisions of such section as they existed on the day preceding the date of enactment of this Act.”
Executive Documents
Transfer of Functions
For
Transfer of Functions
of Federal Trade Commission, with certain exceptions, to Chairman of such Commission, see Reorg. Plan No. 8 of 1950, § 1, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3175, 64 Stat. 1264, set out under section 41 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 21
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73