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Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-102

§851 Registration of Certain Persons; Filing Statement; Regulations

Title 50 › CHAPTER 23 — INTERNAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER V — REGISTRATION OF CERTAIN PERSONS TRAINED IN FOREIGN ESPIONAGE SYSTEMS › § 851

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who know, or were trained or assigned, in spying, counter‑spying, or sabotage for a foreign government or a foreign political party must register with the Attorney General, except as provided in section 852. They must file two sworn copies of a registration form and provide the information and documents the Attorney General’s rules require, which are made with regard to national security and the public interest.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §851

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Except as provided in section 852 of this title, every person who has knowledge of, or has received instruction or assignment in, the espionage, counter-espionage, or sabotage service or tactics of a government of a foreign country or of a foreign political party, shall register with the Attorney General by filing with the Attorney General a registration statement in duplicate, under oath, prepared and filed in such manner and form, and containing such statements, information, or documents pertinent to the purposes and objectives of this subchapter as the Attorney General, having due regard for the national security and the public interest, by regulations prescribes.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was not enacted as part of the Internal Security Act of 1950 which comprises subchapters I to III of this chapter.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

SeparabilityAct Aug. 1, 1956, ch. 849, § 9, 70 Stat. 900, provided: “If any provision of this Act [enacting this subchapter] or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the remainder of the Act, and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances, is not affected thereby.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 851

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102