Title 25, IndiansRelease 119-110

§2304 Identification of Right to Payment and Expedited Claim Payment

Title 25 › CHAPTER 25 — OLD AGE ASSISTANCE CLAIMS SETTLEMENT › § 2304

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must search the Department of the Interior’s records to find people who are owed any part of unauthorized payments and figure out how much each person should receive. When the Secretary finds a person and the amount owed, the Secretary must pay that money right away, including interest calculated under section 2302, without making the person file a formal claim. The Secretary must try to notify each person using the best available methods. That can include direct notice to the person, telling their next of kin, notifying the tribe’s leader, or publishing a notice in local newspapers.

Full Legal Text

Title 25, §2304

Indians, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Search of records

The Secretary shall conduct a search of the records of the Department of the Interior to identify individuals who are entitled to any portion of the unauthorized disbursements which were made and to ascertain the amount of such unauthorized disbursements to which each of such individuals is entitled.

(b)Payment without filing of claim

In any case in which the Secretary ascertains the name and location of any individual who is entitled to any portion of an unauthorized disbursement and determines the amount of such unauthorized disbursement to which such individual is entitled, the Secretary shall pay such amount, including interest thereon as provided in section 2302 of this title, to such individual immediately without requiring such individual to file a formal claim for payment.

(c)Notification

The Secretary shall use the best available means of notifying each individual who is identified in the search conducted under subsection (a) of the right of such individual to receive payment under this chapter. The means of notification available to the Secretary shall include—

(1)notice provided directly to such individual;

(2)notification of the next of kin of such individual;

(3)notification of the chairman or chief executive officer of the tribe of which such individual is a member or of which the deceased Indian was a member; and

(4)publication of notice in newspapers of general circulation in the appropriate area.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

25 U.S.C. § 2304

Title 25, Indians

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110