Title 6 — Domestic SecurityRelease 119-73

§124 Homeland Security Advisory System

Title 6 › Chapter CHAPTER 1— - HOMELAND SECURITY ORGANIZATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - INFORMATION ANALYSIS › Part Part A— - Information and Analysis; Access to Information › § 124

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must run the Homeland Security Advisory System to give warnings about possible terrorist acts to federal, state, local, and tribal officials and to the public. The Secretary has the main job of sending these advisories. While running the system, the Secretary must do five things: set rules for when to issue and cancel warnings; make a method that follows those rules; give specific, practical protective advice in each warning so people, governments, emergency responders, and businesses can act; try to limit warnings to the areas or economic sectors at risk when possible; and not rely only on color codes to show threat levels.

Full Legal Text

Title 6, §124

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall administer the Homeland Security Advisory System in accordance with this section to provide advisories or warnings regarding the threat or risk that acts of terrorism will be committed on the homeland to Federal, State, local, and tribal government authorities and to the people of the United States, as appropriate. The Secretary shall exercise primary responsibility for providing such advisories or warnings.

(b)In administering the Homeland Security Advisory System, the Secretary shall—

(1)establish criteria for the issuance and revocation of such advisories or warnings;

(2)develop a methodology, relying on the criteria established under paragraph (1), for the issuance and revocation of such advisories or warnings;

(3)provide, in each such advisory or warning, specific information and advice regarding appropriate protective measures and countermeasures that may be taken in response to the threat or risk, at the maximum level of detail practicable to enable individuals, government entities, emergency response providers, and the private sector to act appropriately;

(4)whenever possible, limit the scope of each such advisory or warning to a specific region, locality, or economic sector believed to be under threat or at risk; and

(5)not, in issuing any advisory or warning, use color designations as the exclusive means of specifying homeland security threat conditions that are the subject of the advisory or warning.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

6 U.S.C. § 124

Title 6 — Domestic Security

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73