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Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§669a Nonliability for financial institutions providing financial records to State child support enforcement agencies in child support cases

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 7— - SOCIAL SECURITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - GRANTS TO STATES FOR AID AND SERVICES TO NEEDY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN AND FOR CHILD-WELFARE SERVICES › Part Part D— - Child Support and Establishment of Paternity › § 669a

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Banks, credit unions, and similar financial companies cannot be sued under federal or state law for giving a person’s financial records to a state child support agency or to the Federal Parent Locator Service when the agency is trying to set up, change, or enforce child support. The state agency that gets the records may only use or share them as much as needed to handle the child support case. If someone else releases those records in violation of the rule and does so knowingly or through negligence, the person whose records were shared can sue in federal court. No penalty applies if the release came from a good-faith but mistaken reading of the rule. A court that finds a violation can order the wrongdoer to pay either $1,000 per wrongful disclosure or the actual damages (and, for willful or grossly negligent releases, extra punitive damages), plus court costs and lawyer fees. “Financial institution” covers banks, credit unions, insurers, money-market funds, and similar entities; “financial record” is defined in 12 U.S.C. 3401.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §669a

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a financial institution shall not be liable under any Federal or State law to any person for disclosing any financial record of an individual to a State child support enforcement agency attempting to establish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation of such individual, or for disclosing any such record to the Federal Parent Locator Service pursuant to section 666(a)(17)(A) of this title.
(b)A State child support enforcement agency which obtains a financial record of an individual from a financial institution pursuant to subsection (a) may disclose such financial record only for the purpose of, and to the extent necessary in, establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation of such individual.
(c)(1)If any person knowingly, or by reason of negligence, discloses a financial record of an individual in violation of subsection (b), such individual may bring a civil action for damages against such person in a district court of the United States.
(2)No liability shall arise under this subsection with respect to any disclosure which results from a good faith, but erroneous, interpretation of subsection (b).
(3)In any action brought under paragraph (1), upon a finding of liability on the part of the defendant, the defendant shall be liable to the plaintiff in an amount equal to the sum of—
(A)the greater of—
(i)$1,000 for each act of unauthorized disclosure of a financial record with respect to which such defendant is found liable; or
(ii)the sum of—
(I)the actual damages sustained by the plaintiff as a result of such unauthorized disclosure; plus
(II)in the case of a willful disclosure or a disclosure which is the result of gross negligence, punitive damages; plus
(B)the costs (including attorney’s fees) of the action.
(d)For purposes of this section—
(1)The term “financial institution” means—
(A)a depository institution, as defined in section 1813(c) of title 12;
(B)an institution-affiliated party, as defined in section 1813(u) of title 12;
(C)any Federal credit union or State credit union, as defined in section 1752 of title 12, including an institution-affiliated party of such a credit union, as defined in section 1786(r) of title 12; and
(D)any benefit association, insurance company, safe deposit company, money-market mutual fund, or similar entity authorized to do business in the State.
(2)The term “financial record” has the meaning given such term in section 3401 of title 12.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–200 inserted “, or for disclosing any such record to the Federal Parent Locator Service pursuant to section 666(a)(17)(A) of this title” before period at end.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

For

Effective Date

of section, see section 395(a)–(c) of Pub. L. 104–193, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1996 Amendment note under section 654 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 669a

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73