Title 31 — Money and FinanceRelease 119-73

§3720E Dissemination of information regarding identity of delinquent debtors

Title 31 › Subtitle SUBTITLE III— - FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT › Chapter CHAPTER 37— - CLAIMS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - CLAIMS OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT › § 3720E

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Agency heads can, after review by the Secretary of the Treasury, publicly name someone and say they owe a delinquent nontax debt to try to collect it. The Secretary of the Treasury must make rules, working with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and other federal agency heads. The rules must focus collection efforts on people who can pay, make sure people have had a chance to verify, contest, or settle their debt under the law before any public release, and prevent people from being wrongly identified.

Full Legal Text

Title 31, §3720E

Money and Finance — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The head of any agency may, with the review of the Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of collecting any delinquent nontax debt owed by any person, publish or otherwise publicly disseminate information regarding the identity of the person and the existence of the nontax debt.

(b)(1)The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall issue regulations establishing procedures and requirements the Secretary considers appropriate to carry out this section.

(2)Regulations under this subsection shall include—

(A)standards for disseminating information that maximize collections of delinquent nontax debts, by directing actions under this section toward delinquent debtors that have assets or income sufficient to pay their delinquent nontax debt;

(B)procedures and requirements that prevent dissemination of information under this section regarding persons who have not had an opportunity to verify, contest, and compromise their nontax debt in accordance with this subchapter; and

(C)procedures to ensure that persons are not incorrectly identified pursuant to this section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

31 U.S.C. § 3720E

Title 31 — Money and Finance

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73