Title 18, Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-110
§441 Postal Supply Contracts
Title 18 › PART I — CRIMES › CHAPTER 23 — CONTRACTS › § 441
Summary
The Postal Service must not give a supply contract to anyone who made or planned secret deals to stop others from bidding, agreed to set prices, or paid or promised payment to make someone not bid or to bid a set price. Anyone who does this can be fined, go to jail for up to one year, or both; a contractor who breaks the rule can have their contract canceled.
Full Legal Text
Title 18, §441
Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
No contract for furnishing supplies to the Postal Service shall be made with any person who has entered, or proposed to enter, into any combination to prevent the making of any bid for furnishing such supplies, or to fix a price or prices therefor, or who has made any agreement, or given or performed, or promised to give or perform, any consideration whatever to induce any other person not to bid for any such contract, or to bid at a specified price or prices thereon. Whoever violates this section shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the offender is a contractor for furnishing such supplies his contract may be annulled.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on section 808 of title 39, U.S.C., 1940 ed., The Postal Service (Aug. 24, 1912, ch. 389, § 2, 37 Stat. 553). Minimum punishment provisions “less than $100 nor” and “less than three months nor” were omitted to conform to policy followed by codifiers of 1909 Criminal Code. Changes in phraseology were also made.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
1994—Pub. L. 103–322, which directed the amendment of this section by substituting “fined under this title” for “fined not more than $10,000”, was executed by making the substitution for “fined not more than $5,000” in second par., to reflect the probable intent of Congress. 1970—Pub. L. 91–375 struck out “Post Office Department or the” before “Postal Service”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1970 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 91–375 effective within 1 year after Aug. 12, 1970, on date established therefor by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service and published by it in the Federal Register, see section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as an
Effective Date
note preceding section 101 of Title 39, Postal Service.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
18 U.S.C. § 441
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110