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Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-110

§3614 Resentencing Upon Failure to Pay a Fine or Restitution

Title 18 › PART II — CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › CHAPTER 229 — POSTSENTENCE ADMINISTRATION › SUBCHAPTER B — FINES › § 3614

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

A court may resentence a person who knowingly fails to pay an overdue fine or restitution. The court can give any sentence it could have given at the original sentencing. A jail term can be used only if the court finds either (1) the person willfully refused to pay or did not make real efforts to pay, or (2) given the crime and the person, non‑jail options would not be enough for punishment and deterrence. The court cannot jail someone only because they are too poor to pay.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §3614

Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Resentencing.—
Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), if a defendant knowingly fails to pay a delinquent fine or restitution the court may resentence the defendant to any sentence which might originally have been imposed.
(b)Imprisonment.—
The defendant may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment under subsection (a) only if the court determines that—
(1)the defendant willfully refused to pay the delinquent fine or had failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts to pay the fine; or
(2)in light of the nature of the offense and the characteristics of the person, alternatives to imprisonment are not adequate to serve the purposes of punishment and deterrence.
(c)Effect of Indigency.—
In no event shall a defendant be incarcerated under this section solely on the basis of inability to make payments because the defendant is indigent.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

For a prior section 3614, applicable to offenses committed prior to Nov. 1, 1987, see note set out preceding section 3601 of this title.

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(A), inserted “or restitution” after “fine” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(B), inserted “or restitution” after “fine”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(C), added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1996 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–132 to be effective, to extent constitutionally permissible, for sentencing proceedings in cases in which defendant is convicted on or after Apr. 24, 1996, see section 211 of Pub. L. 104–132, set out as a note under section 2248 of this title.

Effective Date

Section effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of this section, see section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 3614

Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110