§5901 — Title 38 Veterans' Benefits | U.S. Code

Summary

People must be officially recognized by the Secretary before they can act as an agent or attorney to prepare, present, or pursue claims under laws the Secretary runs. The only exception is what section 500 of title 5 allows. Each time someone filing such a claim logs into a Department website or online tool, the Secretary must show, in plain language, a warning about people who act illegally, a link to report them, a way to search for recognized agents, attorneys, or other approved entities, and a link to final disciplinary decisions. That information must be provided in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and the seven other most common U.S. languages.

Title 38, §5901

Veterans' Benefits — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided by section 500 of title 5, no individual may act as an agent or attorney in the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim under laws administered by the Secretary unless such individual has been recognized for such purposes by the Secretary.

(b)(1)The Secretary shall ensure that, each time a claimant under a law administered by the Secretary logs in to a website or online tool of the Department, such website or online tool issues to the claimant, in plain language—

(A)a warning about individuals who seek to act in violation of this chapter;

(B)a link to an online tool of the Department through which the claimant may report such an individual;

(C)a link to an online tool of the Department through which the claimant may search for a recognized agent, attorney, or other entity recognized by the Secretary for the preparation, presentation, or prosecution of any claim under laws administered by the Secretary; and

(D)a link to a website or an online tool of the Department providing final decisions on discipline of agents, attorneys, and entities, described in subparagraph (C), by the Secretary for violations of this chapter.

(2)The Secretary shall provide all information under paragraph (1) in the following languages:

(A)English.

(B)Spanish.

(C)Tagalog.

(D)The seven other languages most commonly spoken in the United States.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2023—Pub. L. 118–21 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b). 1991—Pub. L. 102–40 renumbered section 3401 of this title as this section. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(b)(1), (2)(E), substituted “Secretary” for “Administrator”. Pub. L. 102–83, § 4(a)(1), substituted “administered by the Secretary” for “administered by the Veterans’ Administration”. 1986—Pub. L. 99–576 substituted “such individual” for “he”. 1969—Pub. L. 91–24 substituted “Except as provided by section 500 of title 5, no individual may act” for “No individual may act”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Implementation Pub. L. 118–21, § 3(b), Nov. 13, 2023, 137 Stat. 110, provided that: “The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out subsection (b) of such section, as added by subsection (a) of this section— “(1) after consulting with stakeholders (including veterans service organizations recognized under section 5902 of such title) regarding the wording of the warning under such subsection; and “(2) not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 13, 2023].”

§5901 Prohibition against acting as claims agent or attorney