Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73
§1732 Approval of bond or sureties by postmaster
Title 18 › Part PART I— - CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 83— - POSTAL SERVICE › § 1732
Summary
A postmaster who signs to approve a bidder’s bond or a certificate that the guarantors are sufficient before the bidder and those guarantors have signed, or who knowingly or without proper checks approves a bond with weak or missing guarantors or makes a false certificate, can be fined under this law, imprisoned not more than one year, or both, and will be removed from office and barred from being a postmaster.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §1732
Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Whoever, being a postmaster, affixes his signature to the approval of any bond of a bidder, or to the certificate of sufficiency of sureties in any contract, before the said bond or contract is signed by the bidder or contractor and his sureties, or knowingly, or without the exercise of due diligence, approves any bond of a bidder with insufficient sureties, or knowingly makes any false or fraudulent certificate, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and shall be dismissed from office and disqualified from holding the office of postmaster.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 352 (Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, § 222, 35 Stat. 1133). Minor verbal changes were made.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $5,000”.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 1732
Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73