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Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-102

§3613A Effect of Default

Title 18 › PART II — CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › CHAPTER 229 — POSTSENTENCE ADMINISTRATION › SUBCHAPTER B — FINES › § 3613A

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a court finds someone failed to pay a fine or restitution, the court can use many tools to make them pay. It can revoke or change probation or supervised release, resentence the person under section 3614, hold them in contempt, issue restraining orders, order sale of property, accept a performance bond, set or change a payment plan, or take other actions allowed under section 3565. The court must consider the person’s job, earning ability, money, whether the failure was willful, and other relevant facts. A magistrate judge can hold the hearing, but a judge can review it again from the start. If the person is jailed, the hearing should, when possible, be by phone, video, or other technology so the person does not have to leave the facility.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §3613A

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)Upon a finding that the defendant is in default on a payment of a fine or restitution, the court may, pursuant to section 3565, revoke probation or a term of supervised release, modify the terms or conditions of probation or a term of supervised release, resentence a defendant pursuant to section 3614, hold the defendant in contempt of court, enter a restraining order or injunction, order the sale of property of the defendant, accept a performance bond, enter or adjust a payment schedule, or take any other action necessary to obtain compliance with the order of a fine or restitution.
(2)In determining what action to take, the court shall consider the defendant’s employment status, earning ability, financial resources, the willfulness in failing to comply with the fine or restitution order, and any other circumstances that may have a bearing on the defendant’s ability or failure to comply with the order of a fine or restitution.
(b)(1)Any hearing held pursuant to this section may be conducted by a magistrate judge, subject to de novo review by the court.
(2)To the extent practicable, in a hearing held pursuant to this section involving a defendant who is confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility, proceedings in which the prisoner’s participation is required or permitted shall be conducted by telephone, video conference, or other communications technology without removing the prisoner from the facility in which the prisoner is confined.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section to be effective, to extent constitutionally permissible, for sentencing proceedings in cases in which the defendant is convicted on or after Apr. 24, 1996, see section 211 of Pub. L. 104–132, set out as an

Effective Date

of 1996 Amendment note under section 2248 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 3613A

Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102