Title 18Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3126 Reports concerning pen registers and trap and trace devices

Title 18 › Part PART II— - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 206— - PEN REGISTERS AND TRAP AND TRACE DEVICES › § 3126

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Attorney General must send Congress a yearly report listing how many pen register and trap-and-trace orders the Justice Department asked for. The report must say how long interceptions were allowed and any extensions, the offense named, number of investigations, what facilities were affected, and which agency (including its district) and which official authorized the order.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §3126

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Attorney General shall annually report to Congress on the number of pen register orders and orders for trap and trace devices applied for by law enforcement agencies of the Department of Justice, which report shall include information concerning—
(1)the period of interceptions authorized by the order, and the number and duration of any extensions of the order;
(2)the offense specified in the order or application, or extension of an order;
(3)the number of investigations involved;
(4)the number and nature of the facilities affected; and
(5)the identity, including district, of the applying investigative or law enforcement agency making the application and the person authorizing the order.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 3126 was renumbered section 3127 of this title.

Amendments

2000—Pub. L. 106–197 substituted “, which report shall include information concerning—” and pars. (1) to (5) for period at end. 1988—Pub. L. 100–690 renumbered section 3125 of this title as this section.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective 90 days after Oct. 21, 1986, and, in case of conduct pursuant to court order or extension, applicable only with respect to court orders and extensions made after such date, with special rule for State authorizations of interceptions, see section 302 of Pub. L. 99–508, set out as a note under section 3121 of this title. Report on Use of DCS 1000 (Carnivore) To Implement Orders Under section 3123 Pub. L. 107–273, div. A, title III, § 305(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1782, provided that: “At the same time that the Attorney General submits to Congress the annual reports required by section 3126 of title 18, United States Code, that are respectively next due after the end of each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003, the Attorney General shall also submit to the Chairmen and ranking minority members of the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and of the House of Representatives a report, covering the same respective time period, on the number of orders under section 3123 applied for by law

Enforcement

agencies of the Department of Justice whose implementation involved the use of the DCS 1000 program (or any subsequent version of such program), which report shall include information concerning— “(1) the period of interceptions authorized by the order, and the number and duration of any extensions of the order; “(2) the offense specified in the order or application, or extension of an order; “(3) the number of investigations involved; “(4) the number and nature of the facilities affected; “(5) the identity of the applying investigative or law

Enforcement

agency making the application for an order; and “(6) the specific persons authorizing the use of the DCS 1000 program (or any subsequent version of such program) in the implementation of such order.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 3126

Title 18Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73