Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110
§1873 Annual Reports
Title 50 › CHAPTER 36 — FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE › SUBCHAPTER V — OVERSIGHT › § 1873
Summary
Requires several government officials to file yearly reports about certain foreign-intelligence and surveillance orders, how often they are used, and how searches or queries affect U.S. persons. The Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts must send a yearly report to the House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees (after declassification review by the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence) with counts of applications, grants, modifications, denials, amicus curiae appointments (with names), findings that an amicus appointment was inappropriate, and uses of court authority under chapter 21. The Director must post that report online, except for the specific findings about amicus appointments. The Director of National Intelligence must post a public annual report in April covering the prior calendar year with totals and good-faith estimates of orders and targets (separating known U.S. persons and non-U.S. persons), counts or estimates of search terms and queries involving known U.S. persons, unique identifiers, criminal notice filings, and the number of national security letters and requests. If an estimate is under 500, it must be shown as “fewer than 500.” If some parts of an estimate cannot be determined, the DNI must certify that in writing to the committees, give the parts it can, say when a full estimate is expected, and post that certification publicly; the certification is unclassified but may have a classified annex. The FBI Director must report yearly to the same committees about accountability actions for improper queries (including the number and results of personnel investigations) and must also send an annual report and start quarterly reports on U.S. person queries under section 1881a; the FBI’s annual report is subject to declassification review and must be publicly available in the first April after the covered year. Definitions named in the law include contents, electronic communication, national security letter (a government request for records under certain laws), United States person (U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident), and wire communication.
Full Legal Text
Title 50, §1873
War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Report by Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts
(1)Report required
The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall annually submit to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, subject to a declassification review by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence, a report that includes—
(A)the number of applications or certifications for orders submitted under each of section 1805, 1824, 1842, 1861, 1881a, 1881b, and 1881c of this title;
(B)the number of such orders granted under each of those sections;
(C)the number of orders modified under each of those sections;
(D)the number of applications or certifications denied under each of those sections;
(E)the number of appointments of an individual to serve as amicus curiae under section 1803 of this title, including the name of each individual appointed to serve as amicus curiae;
(F)the number of findings issued under section 1803(i) of this title that such appointment is not appropriate and the text of any such findings; and
(G)the number of times the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review exercised authority under chapter 21 of title 18 and a description of each use of such authority.
(2)Publication
The Director shall make the report required under paragraph (1) publicly available on an Internet Web site, except that the Director shall not make publicly available on an Internet Web site the findings described in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1).
(b)Mandatory reporting by Director of National Intelligence
Except as provided in subsection (d), the Director of National Intelligence shall annually make publicly available on an Internet Web site a report that identifies, for the preceding 12-month period—
(1)the total number of orders issued pursuant to subchapters I and II and section 1881b and 1881c of this title and a good faith estimate of—
(A)the number of targets of such orders;
(B)the number of targets of such orders who are known to not be United States persons; and
(C)the number of targets of such orders who are known to be United States persons;
(2)the total number of orders issued pursuant to section 1881a of this title, including pursuant to subsection (f)(2) of such section, and a good faith estimate of—
(A)the number of targets of such orders;
(B)the number of search terms concerning a known United States person used to retrieve the unminimized contents (or combined unminimized contents and noncontents information) of electronic communications or wire communications obtained through acquisitions authorized under such section, excluding the number of search terms used to prevent the return of information concerning a United States person;
(C)the number of queries concerning a known United States person of unminimized noncontents information relating to electronic communications or wire communications obtained through acquisitions authorized under such section, excluding the number of queries containing information used to prevent the return of information concerning a United States person;
(D)the number of instances in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened, under the Criminal Investigative Division or any successor division, an investigation of a United States person (who is not considered a threat to national security) based wholly or in part on an acquisition authorized under such section;
(3)the total number of orders issued pursuant to subchapter III and a good faith estimate of—
(A)the number of targets of such orders, including—
(i)the number of targets of such orders who are known to not be United States persons; and
(ii)the number of targets of such orders who are known to be United States persons; and
(B)the number of unique identifiers used to communicate information collected pursuant to such orders;
(4)the number of criminal proceedings in which the United States or a State or political subdivision thereof provided notice pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) of section 1806 of this title (including with respect to information acquired from an acquisition conducted under section 1881a of this title) or subsection (d) or (e) of section 1825 of this title of the intent of the government to enter into evidence or otherwise use or disclose any information obtained or derived from electronic surveillance, physical search, or an acquisition conducted pursuant to this chapter;
(5)the total number of orders issued pursuant to applications made under section 1861(b)(2)(B) 1 of this title and a good faith estimate of—
(A)the number of targets of such orders; and
(B)the number of unique identifiers used to communicate information collected pursuant to such orders;
(6)the total number of orders issued pursuant to applications made under section 1861(b)(2)(C) 1 of this title and a good faith estimate of—
(A)the number of targets of such orders;
(B)the number of unique identifiers used to communicate information collected pursuant to such orders; and
(C)the number of search terms that included information concerning a United States person that were used to query any database of call detail records obtained through the use of such orders; and
(7)the total number of national security letters issued and the number of requests for information contained within such national security letters.
(c)Timing
The annual reports required by subsections (a) and (b) shall be made publicly available during April of each year and include information relating to the previous calendar year.
(d)Exceptions
(1)Statement of numerical range
If a good faith estimate required to be reported under subparagraph (B) of any of paragraphs (3), (5), or (6) of subsection (b) is fewer than 500, it shall be expressed as a numerical range of “fewer than 500” and shall not be expressed as an individual number.
(2)Nonapplicability to electronic mail address and telephone numbers
Paragraph (3)(B) of subsection (b) shall not apply to orders resulting in the acquisition of information by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that does not include electronic mail addresses or telephone numbers.
(3)Certification
(A)In general
If the Director of National Intelligence concludes that a good faith estimate required to be reported under subsection (b)(2)(C) cannot be determined accurately because some but not all of the relevant elements of the intelligence community are able to provide such good faith estimate, the Director shall—
(i)certify that conclusion in writing to the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives;
(ii)report the good faith estimate for those relevant elements able to provide such good faith estimate;
(iii)explain when it is reasonably anticipated that such an estimate will be able to be determined fully and accurately; and
(iv)make such certification publicly available on an Internet Web site.
(B)Form
A certification described in subparagraph (A) shall be prepared in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.
(C)Timing
If the Director of National Intelligence continues to conclude that the good faith estimates described in this paragraph cannot be determined accurately, the Director shall annually submit a certification in accordance with this paragraph.
(e)Mandatory reporting by Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall annually submit to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, a report describing the accountability actions taken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the preceding 12-month period for noncompliant querying of information acquired under section 1881a of this title and any such actions taken pursuant to section 1803(m) of this title, to include the number of ongoing personnel investigations, the outcome of any completed personnel investigations and any related adverse personnel actions taken.
(f)Mandatory reporting on section 1881a of this title by Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation
(1)Annual report
The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall annually submit to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report that includes—
(A)the number of United States person queries by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of unminimized contents or noncontents acquired pursuant to section 1881a(a) of this title;
(B)the number of approved queries using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s batch job technology, or successor tool;
(C)the number of queries using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s batch job technology, or successor tool, conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation against information acquired pursuant to section 1881a(a) of this title for which pre-approval was not obtained due to emergency circumstances;
(D)the number of United States person queries conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of unminimized contents or noncontents acquired pursuant to section 1881a(a) of this title solely to retrieve evidence of a crime;
(E)a good faith estimate of the number of United States person query terms used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct queries of unminimized contents or noncontents acquired pursuant to section 1881a(a) of this title primarily to protect the United States person who is the subject of the query; and
(F)a good faith estimate of the number of United States person query terms used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct queries of unminimized contents or noncontents acquired pursuant to section 1881a(a) of this title where the United States person who is the subject of the query is a target or subject of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(2)Public availability
Subject to declassification review by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence, each annual report submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be available to the public during the first April following the calendar year covered by the report.
(3)Quarterly report
Beginning on the date that is not later than 1 year after the effective date of this paragraph, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall submit a quarterly report to the congressional intelligence committees and to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate that includes the number of U.S. person queries conducted during that quarter.
(g)Definitions
In this section: (1) Contents
(2)Electronic communication
The term “electronic communication” has the meaning given that term under section 2510 of title 18.
(3)National security letter
The term “national security letter” means a request for a report, records, or other information under—
(B)section 3414(a)(5)(A) of title 12;
(C)subsection (a) or (b) of section 1681u of title 15; or
(D)section 1681v(a) of title 15.
(4)United States person
The term “United States person” means a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101(a) of title 8).
(5)Wire communication
The term “wire communication” has the meaning given that term under section 2510 of title 18.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
section 1861 of this title, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1)(A) and (b)(5), (6), means section 1861 of this title prior to the amendment of section 1861 by Pub. L. 109–177, title I, § 102(b), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 195, set out as an
Effective Date
of 2006 Amendment note under section 1805 of this title, which amended section 1861 of this title, effective Mar. 15, 2020, so that such section read as it read on Oct. 25, 2001, with certain exceptions. This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b)(4), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–511, Oct. 25, 1978, 92 Stat. 1783, known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Short Title
note set out under section 1801 of this title and Tables. For the
Effective Date
of this paragraph, referred to in subsec. (f)(3), see
Effective Date
of 2024 Amendment note below.
Amendments
2024—Subsec. (a)(1)(G). Pub. L. 118–49, § 14(b), added subpar. (G). Subsec. (b)(2)(B). Pub. L. 118–49, § 11(a)(1)(A), inserted “(or combined unminimized contents and noncontents information)” after “unminimized contents”. Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 118–49, § 11(a)(1)(B), amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (2) related to nonapplicability to certain information, consisting of subpar. (A) relating to certain information held by or queries conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and subpar. (B) relating to electronic mail address and telephone numbers. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 118–49, § 12(a)(2), added subsec. (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (g). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 118–49, § 11(a)(1)(C), added subsec. (f). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 118–49, § 12(a)(1), redesignated subsec. (e) as (g). 2018—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(1)(A), substituted “good faith estimate of—” for “good faith estimate of the number of targets of such orders;” and added subpars. (A) to (C). Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(1)(B), inserted “, including pursuant to subsection (f)(2) of such section,” after “section 1881a of this title” in introductory provisions, added subpars. (A) and (D), and redesignated former subpars. (A) and (B) as (B) and (C), respectively. Subsec. (b)(3)(A). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(1)(C), substituted “orders, including—” for “orders; and” and added cls. (i) and (ii). Subsec. (b)(4) to (7). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(1)(D), (E), added par. (4) and redesignated former pars. (4) to (6) as (5) to (7), respectively. Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(2)(A), substituted “(5), or (6)” for “(4), or (5)”. Subsec. (d)(2)(A). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(2)(B), substituted “Paragraphs (2)(B), (2)(C), and (6)(C)” for “Paragraphs (2)(A), (2)(B), and (5)(C)” and inserted before period at end “, except with respect to information required under paragraph (2) relating to orders issued under section 1881a(f)(2) of this title”. Subsec. (d)(3)(A). Pub. L. 115–118, § 102(b)(2)(C), substituted “subsection (b)(2)(C)” for “subsection (b)(2)(B)” in introductory provisions.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2024 Amendment Pub. L. 118–49, § 11(a)(2), Apr. 20, 2024, 138 Stat. 879, provided that: “The
Amendments
made by this subsection [amending this section] shall take effect on January 1, 2025.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
50 U.S.C. § 1873
Title 50, War and National Defense
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110