Title 5 — Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73not60
§5584 Claims for Overpayment of Pay and Allowances, and of Travel, Transportation and Relocation Expenses and Allowances
Title 5 › Part III— EMPLOYEES › Subpart D— Pay and Allowances › Chapter 55— PAY ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter VIII— SETTLEMENT OF ACCOUNTS › § 5584
Summary
The United States can cancel a debt when someone got pay, allowances (paid on or after July 1, 1960), or travel/relocation money by mistake and taking it back would be unfair or not in the government’s interest. An authorized official can cancel the debt. The head of an agency can cancel debts up to $1,500 if they follow rules from the authorized official. The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts can cancel debts up to $10,000 for employees of certain federal court offices. Debts cannot be canceled if there is evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or bad faith. Requests must arrive within three years after the error was discovered, with special fixed cutoff dates for older cases: three years after October 21, 1968 for pay, three years after October 2, 1972 for allowances, and for employees of the Government Publishing Office, Library of Congress, Architect of the Capitol, or Botanic Garden, three years after July 25, 1974. Travel-related errors must be applied for within three years after discovery. If someone already paid back money and a cancellation is later granted, they can ask the original employing agency for a refund within two years after the cancellation takes effect. Audits must show credit for canceled amounts, and a canceled mistaken payment is treated as a valid payment. Other laws about settling or suing on government claims still apply. “Agency” here covers executive agencies, the Government Publishing Office, Library of Congress, Architect of the Capitol, Botanic Garden, certain courts’ offices, and the Congressional Budget Office. The “authorized official” means the head of a legislative-branch agency or the Director of the Office of Management and Budget for other agencies.
Full Legal Text
Title 5, §5584
Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)A claim of the United States against a person arising out of an erroneous payment of pay or allowances made on or after July 1, 1960, or arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, to an employee of an agency, the collection of which would be against equity and good conscience and not in the best interests of the United States, may be waived in whole or in part by—
(1)the authorized official;
(2)the head of the agency when—
(A)the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $1,500; and
(B)the waiver is made in accordance with standards which the authorized official shall prescribe; or
(3)the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts when the claim is in an amount aggregating not more than $10,000 and involves an officer or employee of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, or any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28.
(b)The authorized official or the head of the agency, as the case may be, may not exercise his authority under this section to waive any claim—
(1)if, in his opinion, there exists, in connection with the claim, an indication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the part of the employee or any other person having an interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim;
(2)except in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office, after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay was discovered or three years immediately following October 21, 1968, whichever is later;
(3)except in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of three years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of allowances was discovered or three years immediately following October 2, 1972, whichever is later;
(4)in the case of employees of the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment of pay or allowances was discovered or 3 years immediately following July 25, 1974, whichever is later; or
(5)in the case of a claim involving an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances, if application for waiver is received in his office after the expiration of 3 years immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment was discovered.
(c)A person who has repaid to the United States all or part of the amount of a claim, with respect to which a waiver is granted under this section, is entitled, to the extent of the waiver, to refund, by the employing agency at the time of the erroneous payment, of the amount repaid to the United States, if he applies to that employing agency for that refund within two years following the effective date of the waiver. The employing agency shall pay that refund in accordance with this section.
(d)In the audit and settlement of the accounts of any accountable official, full credit shall be given for any amounts with respect to which collection by the United States is waived under this section.
(e)An erroneous payment, the collection of which is waived under this section, is deemed a valid payment for all purposes.
(f)This section does not affect any authority under any other statute to litigate, settle, compromise, or waive any claim of the United States.
(g)For the purpose of this section, “agency” means—
(1)an Executive agency;
(2)the Government Publishing Office;
(3)the Library of Congress;
(4)the Office of the Architect of the Capitol;
(5)the Botanic Garden;
(6)the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, and any of the courts set forth in section 610 of title 28; and
(7)the Congressional Budget Office.
(g)11 So in original. Probably should be “(h)”. For the purpose of this section, the term “authorized official” means—
(1)the head of an agency, with respect to an agency or employee in the legislative branch; or
(2)the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with respect to any other agency or employee.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2005—Subsec. (g)(7). Pub. L. 109–55 added par. (7) in subsec. (g) defining “agency”. 1996—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–316, § 103(d)(1), in par. (1) substituted “authorized official” for “Comptroller General of the United States”, and in par. (2) inserted “and” at end of subpar. (A), redesignated subpar. (C) as (B) and substituted “authorized official” for “Comptroller General”, and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as follows: “the claim is not the subject of an exception made by the Comptroller General in the account of any accountable official; and”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–316, § 103(d)(2), substituted “authorized official” for “Comptroller General” in introductory provisions. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 104–316, § 103(d)(3), added subsec. (g) defining “authorized official”. 1991—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 102–190 substituted “$1,500” for “$500”. 1988—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 100–702, § 1009(a)(1), added par. (3). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 100–702, § 1009(a)(2), added par. (6) and last sentence. 1985—Pub. L. 99–224, § 1(a)(1), substituted “and of travel, transportation and relocation expenses and allowances” for “other than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation expenses” in section catchline. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99–224, § 1(a)(2), substituted “made on or after
July 1, 1960, or arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation or relocation expenses and allowances” for “, other than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation expenses payable under section 5724a of this title, on or after
July 1, 1960”. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99–224, § 1(a)(3), added par. (5). 1979—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 96–54 substituted “
July 25, 1974” for “the date on which this clause (4) is enacted into law”. 1974—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–359, § 1(1), substituted “agency” for “executive agency” in provisions preceding cl. (1) and in cl. (2) preceding subcl. (A). Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–359, § 1(1)–(4), substituted “agency” for “executive agency” in provisions preceding cl. (1), inserted “except in the case of employees of the Government Printing Office, the Library of Congress, the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, or the Botanic Garden,” immediately following the designation “(2)” in cl. (2) and immediately following the designation “(3)” in cl. (3), struck out “or” at end of cl. (2), substituted “
October 2, 1972, whichever is later; or” for “the
Effective Date
of the amendment authorizing the waiver of allowances, whichever is later” in cl. (3) and struck out the period at end of cl. (3), and added cl. (4). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 93–359, § 1(5), added subsec. (g). 1972—Pub. L. 92–453 inserted “and allowances, other than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation expenses” in section catchline, and substituted “payment of pay or allowances, other than travel and transportation expenses and allowances and relocation expenses payable under section 5724a of this title” for “payment of pay” in subsec. (a). Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 92–453 inserted “if application for waiver is received in his office” in cl. (2), and substituted “October 21, 1968” for “the
Effective Date
of this section.” Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 92–453 added cl. (3).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Change of Name
“Government Publishing Office” substituted for “Government Printing Office” in subsecs. (b)(2) to (4) and (g)(2) on authority of section 1301(b) of Pub. L. 113–235, set out as a note preceding section 301 of Title 44, Public Printing and Documents.
Effective Date
of 2005 Amendment Pub. L. 109–55, title I, § 1100(b), Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 577, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2006 and each succeeding fiscal year.”
Effective Date
of 1996 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 104–316 effective 60 days after Oct. 19, 1996, see section 101(e)(2) of Pub. L. 104–316, set out as a note under section 4593 of Title 2, The Congress.
Effective Date
of 1988 Amendment Pub. L. 100–702, title X, § 1009(b), Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4668, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this section [amending this section] shall apply with respect to any claim arising before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 19, 1988] which is pending on such date, and to any claim which arises on or after such date of enactment.”
Effective Date
of 1985 Amendment Pub. L. 99–224, § 4, Dec. 28, 1985, 99 Stat. 1742, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by section 1 of this Act [amending this section] shall apply to any claim arising out of an erroneous payment of travel, transportation, or relocation expenses and allowances made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 28, 1985]. The
Amendments
made by section 2 and 3 of this Act [amending section 2774 of Title 10, Armed Forces, and section 716 of Title 32, National Guard] shall apply to any claim arising out of an erroneous payment of travel and transportation allowances made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.”
Effective Date
of 1979 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–54 effective July 12, 1979, see section 2(b) of Pub. L. 96–54. set out as a note under section 305 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
5 U.S.C. § 5584
Title 5 — Government Organization and Employees
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60