Title 50 — War and National DefenseRelease 119-73
§1825 Use of information
Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 36— - FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - PHYSICAL SEARCHES › § 1825
Summary
Federal officers and employees may only use or share information taken from a physical search of a United States person under strict limits and only for lawful reasons. They must follow required rules that limit what can be kept or shared. If the search was at a U.S. person’s home and the Attorney General later decides the search no longer needs to stay secret for national security, the Attorney General must tell the person that their home was searched and say what property was taken, changed, or copied. If the government gives such search information to law enforcement, it must say that the information or anything based on it can only be used in a criminal case with advance approval from the Attorney General. Before the United States uses or presents such information against an affected person in any federal proceeding, it must notify that person and the court ahead of time. States doing the same must notify the person, the court, and the Attorney General. A person affected by such a search can ask a court to suppress (block) evidence taken from the search if the information was obtained illegally or the search did not follow an authorization. That motion should be made before the trial unless there was no chance to do so or the person did not know the reason. If the Attorney General files a sworn statement saying disclosure would harm national security, the district court will secretly review the papers alone and may show parts or a summary to the person only if needed to decide the case. If the court finds the search unlawful, it must suppress the evidence; if lawful, it will deny the motion except as due process requires. Those court decisions are final unless reviewed by a U.S. Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court. If an emergency search was done and a later approval was not obtained, the judge must notify affected U.S. persons about the application, the search period, and whether information was obtained. Notice can be delayed up to 90 days for good cause, and a further showing can lead the court to drop the notice requirement. Federal officers may coordinate searches with state or local law enforcement leaders to investigate or guard against certain foreign threats like attacks, terrorism, WMD spread, or secret foreign intelligence activities; such coordination does not replace required certifications or court orders.
Full Legal Text
Title 50, §1825
War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Information acquired from a physical search conducted pursuant to this subchapter concerning any United States person may be used and disclosed by Federal officers and employees without the consent of the United States person only in accordance with the minimization procedures required by this subchapter. No information acquired from a physical search pursuant to this subchapter may be used or disclosed by Federal officers or employees except for lawful purposes.
(b)Where a physical search authorized and conducted pursuant to section 1824 of this title involves the residence of a United States person, and, at any time after the search the Attorney General determines there is no national security interest in continuing to maintain the secrecy of the search, the Attorney General shall provide notice to the United States person whose residence was searched of the fact of the search conducted pursuant to this chapter and shall identify any property of such person seized, altered, or reproduced during such search.
(c)No information acquired pursuant to this subchapter shall be disclosed for law enforcement purposes unless such disclosure is accompanied by a statement that such information, or any information derived therefrom, may only be used in a criminal proceeding with the advance authorization of the Attorney General.
(d)Whenever the United States intends to enter into evidence or otherwise use or disclose in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or other authority of the United States, against an aggrieved person, any information obtained or derived from a physical search pursuant to the authority of this subchapter, the United States shall, prior to the trial, hearing, or the other proceeding or at a reasonable time prior to an effort to so disclose or so use that information or submit it in evidence, notify the aggrieved person and the court or other authority in which the information is to be disclosed or used that the United States intends to so disclose or so use such information.
(e)Whenever any State or political subdivision thereof intends to enter into evidence or otherwise use or disclose in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or other authority of a State or a political subdivision thereof against an aggrieved person any information obtained or derived from a physical search pursuant to the authority of this subchapter, the State or political subdivision thereof shall notify the aggrieved person, the court or other authority in which the information is to be disclosed or used, and the Attorney General that the State or political subdivision thereof intends to so disclose or so use such information.
(f)(1)Any person against whom evidence obtained or derived from a physical search to which he is an aggrieved person is to be, or has been, introduced or otherwise used or disclosed in any trial, hearing, or other proceeding in or before any court, department, officer, agency, regulatory body, or other authority of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision thereof, may move to suppress the evidence obtained or derived from such search on the grounds that—
(A)the information was unlawfully acquired; or
(B)the physical search was not made in conformity with an order of authorization or approval.
(2)Such a motion shall be made before the trial, hearing, or other proceeding unless there was no opportunity to make such a motion or the person was not aware of the grounds of the motion.
(g)Whenever a court or other authority is notified pursuant to subsection (d) or (e), or whenever a motion is made pursuant to subsection (f), or whenever any motion or request is made by an aggrieved person pursuant to any other statute or rule of the United States or any State before any court or other authority of the United States or any State to discover or obtain applications or orders or other materials relating to a physical search authorized by this subchapter or to discover, obtain, or suppress evidence or information obtained or derived from a physical search authorized by this subchapter, the United States district court or, where the motion is made before another authority, the United States district court in the same district as the authority shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Attorney General files an affidavit under oath that disclosure or any adversary hearing would harm the national security of the United States, review in camera and ex parte the application, order, and such other materials relating to the physical search as may be necessary to determine whether the physical search of the aggrieved person was lawfully authorized and conducted. In making this determination, the court may disclose to the aggrieved person, under appropriate security procedures and protective orders, portions of the application, order, or other materials relating to the physical search, or may require the Attorney General to provide to the aggrieved person a summary of such materials, only where such disclosure is necessary to make an accurate determination of the legality of the physical search.
(h)If the United States district court pursuant to subsection (g) determines that the physical search was not lawfully authorized or conducted, it shall, in accordance with the requirements of law, suppress the evidence which was unlawfully obtained or derived from the physical search of the aggrieved person or otherwise grant the motion of the aggrieved person. If the court determines that the physical search was lawfully authorized or conducted, it shall deny the motion of the aggrieved person except to the extent that due process requires discovery or disclosure.
(i)Orders granting motions or requests under subsection (h), decisions under this section that a physical search was not lawfully authorized or conducted, and orders of the United States district court requiring review or granting disclosure of applications, orders, or other materials relating to the physical search shall be final orders and binding upon all courts of the United States and the several States except a United States Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.
(j)(1)If an emergency execution of a physical search is authorized under section 1824(d) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title and a subsequent order approving the search is not obtained, the judge shall cause to be served on any United States person named in the application and on such other United States persons subject to the search as the judge may determine in his discretion it is in the interests of justice to serve, notice of—
(A)the fact of the application;
(B)the period of the search; and
(C)the fact that during the period information was or was not obtained.
(2)On an ex parte showing of good cause to the judge, the serving of the notice required by this subsection may be postponed or suspended for a period not to exceed 90 days. Thereafter, on a further ex parte showing of good cause, the court shall forego ordering the serving of the notice required under this subsection.
(k)(1)Federal officers who conduct physical searches to acquire foreign intelligence information under this subchapter may consult with Federal law enforcement officers or law enforcement personnel of a State or political subdivision of a State (including the chief executive officer of that State or political subdivision who has the authority to appoint or direct the chief law enforcement officer of that State or political subdivision) to coordinate efforts to investigate or protect against—
(A)actual or potential attack or other grave hostile acts of a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power;
(B)sabotage, international terrorism, or the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; or
(C)clandestine intelligence activities by an intelligence service or network of a foreign power or by an agent of a foreign power.
(2)Coordination authorized under paragraph (1) shall not preclude the certification required by section 1823(a)(6) of this title or the entry of an order under section 1824 of this title.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–511, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1783, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1801 of this title and Tables. section 1824(d) of this title, referred to in subsec. (j)(1), was redesignated section 1824(e) of this title by Pub. L. 106–567, title VI, § 603(b)(1), Dec. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 2853.
Amendments
2023—Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 117–347, § 323(a)(1)(A), repealed Pub. L. 107–296, § 899. See 2002 Amendment note below. 2008—Subsec. (k)(1)(B). Pub. L. 110–261, § 110(b)(2), substituted “sabotage, international terrorism, or the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction” for “sabotage or international terrorism”. Subsec. (k)(2). Pub. L. 110–261, § 107(c)(2), substituted “1823(a)(6)” for “1823(a)(7)”. 2002—Subsec. (k)(1). Pub. L. 107–296, § 899, which inserted, in introductory provisions, “or law
Enforcement
personnel of a State or political subdivision of a State (including the chief executive officer of that State or political subdivision who has the authority to appoint or direct the chief law
Enforcement
officer of that State or political subdivision)” after “law
Enforcement
officers”, was repealed by Pub. L. 117–347, § 323(a)(1)(A). Repeal to have no effect on amendment by Pub. L. 107–296, see
Construction
of 2023 Amendment note set out under section 2517 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. 2001—Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 107–56 added subsec. (k).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2008 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 110–261 effective July 10, 2008, except as provided in section 404 of Pub. L. 110–261, set out as a Transition Procedures note under section 1801 of this title, see section 402 of Pub. L. 110–261, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2008 Amendment note under section 1801 of this title.
Effective Date
of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective 60 days after Nov. 25, 2002, see section 4 of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 101 of Title 6, Domestic Security.
Effective Date
Section effective 90 days after Oct. 14, 1994, with exception for certain physical searches approved by the Attorney General to gather foreign intelligence information, see section 807(c) of Pub. L. 103–359, set out as a note under section 1821 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
50 U.S.C. § 1825
Title 50 — War and National Defense
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73