Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§3662 Conviction records

Title 18 › Part PART II— - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › Chapter CHAPTER 232— - MISCELLANEOUS SENTENCING PROVISIONS › § 3662

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Attorney General must set up a national file in the Justice Department that holds records of criminal convictions and of court rulings about whether those convictions were valid. When someone is convicted in a federal, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, territorial, local, or agency court for an offense punishable by death or by more than one year in prison, or when a court later rules on the validity of such a conviction, the court must send a certified record to that file in the form the Attorney General requires. Those records are not open to the public. Certified copies can be given to courts or law enforcement for official use, including to state officers if the state law requires the same reporting. A certified copy is accepted in court as proof that the conviction happened and whether a later court found it invalid on collateral review. The Attorney General must give public notice and allow hearings before making rules for the file.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §3662

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Attorney General of the United States is authorized to establish in the Department of Justice a repository for records of convictions and determinations of the validity of such convictions.

(b)Upon the conviction thereafter of a defendant in a court of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or possession of the United States, any political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof for an offense punishable in such court by death or imprisonment in excess of one year, or a judicial determination of the validity of such conviction on collateral review, the court shall cause a certified record of the conviction or determination to be made to the repository in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General of the United States shall by regulation prescribe.

(c)Records maintained in the repository shall not be public records. Certified copies thereof—

(1)may be furnished for law enforcement purposes on request of a court or law enforcement or corrections officer of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or possession of the United States, any political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof;

(2)may be furnished for law enforcement purposes on request of a court or law enforcement or corrections officer of a State, any political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, if a statute of such State requires that, upon the conviction of a defendant in a court of the State or any political subdivision thereof for an offense punishable in such court by death or imprisonment in excess of one year, or a judicial determination of the validity of such conviction on collateral review, the court cause a certified record of the conviction or determination to be made to the repository in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General of the United States shall by regulation prescribe; and

(3)shall be prima facie evidence in any court of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory or possession of the United States, any political subdivision, or any department, agency, or instrumentality thereof, that the convictions occurred and whether they have been judicially determined to be invalid on collateral review.

(d)The Attorney General of the United States shall give reasonable public notice, and afford to interested parties opportunity for hearing, prior to prescribing regulations under this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 3662

Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73