Federal Bank Robbery Act

The Federal Bank Robbery Act (18 U.S.C. § 2113) makes robbing a federally insured bank, credit union, or savings institution a federal crime carrying up to 20 years in prison — and escalating penalties up to life imprisonment if a weapon is used, a person is taken hostage, or someone is killed. Federal jurisdiction attaches the moment FDIC or NCUA insurance is involved, which covers virtually every bank, credit union, and savings association in the United States. Bank robbery has been a federal crime since 1934, enacted during the Bonnie-and-Clyde era to give the FBI authority to pursue criminals across state lines. See Federal Criminal Law for the broader framework of federal criminal jurisdiction. Today the statute covers not just the vault-and-teller scenario but also entering a bank to commit any felony, stealing from the bank without force, receiving stolen bank property, and carjacking during an escape. Across the robbery and burglary chapter of the federal code, parallel statutes extend federal criminal authority to post offices, mail carriers, government property, carrier freight, and pharmacies.

Current Law (2026)

Legal Authority

• 18 U.S.C. § 2111 — Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: robbery occurring within federal maritime or territorial jurisdiction.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2112 — Personal property of the United States: stealing U.S. government property on federal territory.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2113 — Bank robbery and incidental crimes: the core bank robbery statute; covers force, threats, extortion, entering to commit a felony, theft by amount, receiving stolen property, assaultive conduct, and hostage-taking.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2114 — Mail, money, or other property of United States: robbing postal workers or government money handlers; up to 25 years for armed assault or second offense.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2115 — Post office: breaking into a post office to steal or damage; up to 5 years.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2116 — Railway or steamboat post office: violently entering a mail car or mail vessel; up to 3 years.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2117 — Breaking into carrier facilities: breaking a lock or entering an interstate freight vehicle or pipeline to steal; up to 10 years; state conviction bars federal prosecution.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2118 — Robberies involving controlled substances: stealing drugs by force or breaking into a DEA-registered pharmacy. See also Hobbs Act Extortion & Robbery for the related federal robbery statute covering extortion and commerce-affecting robbery; up to 20 years (armed: 25 years; death: life); conspiracy: up to 10 years.
• 18 U.S.C. § 2119 — Motor vehicles (federal carjacking): taking a motor vehicle by force or threats while trying to cause death or serious harm, where vehicle crossed state lines or was imported; up to 15 years, 25 years if serious injury, life or death if victim dies.

How It Works

Bank Robbery: The Core Statute (18 U.S.C. § 2113)

What Triggers Federal Jurisdiction

Federal jurisdiction requires only that the target institution's deposits be federally insured. Under § 2113(f):

• "Bank": any federally chartered bank and any bank whose deposits are insured by the FDIC — including U.S. branches of foreign banks with FDIC-insured deposits
• "Credit union": any federal credit union or state-chartered credit union whose accounts are insured by the NCUA
• "Savings and loan association": any federal savings association and any state institution with FDIC-insured accounts, along with any corporate subsidiaries that are part of those systems

Because virtually every depository institution in the United States carries FDIC or NCUA insurance, the practical effect is that robbing almost any bank, credit union, or savings institution in the country is a federal crime.

The Offense Tiers

The statute creates four distinct offense levels:

Tier 1 — Force, threat, or extortion (up to 20 years): The most serious standard offense is taking or attempting to take anything of value from a bank by force or intimidation, or by extortion. Also covered: entering a bank with intent to commit any felony there, even if no robbery occurs. Walking into a bank to scope it out as part of a conspiracy to rob it can qualify if the government can prove the felony intent.

Tier 2 — Theft without force, over $1,000 (up to 10 years): Stealing more than $1,000 from a bank without using force, threats, or extortion — for example, an embezzlement scheme, a teller pocketing deposits, or an employee manipulating records — carries up to 10 years.

Tier 3 — Theft without force, $1,000 or less (up to 1 year): Small-dollar theft without force is still a federal crime but treated as a misdemeanor-level offense.

Tier 4 — Receiving stolen bank property: Knowingly possessing, selling, or concealing property taken in a bank robbery carries the same maximum as the underlying theft. This captures the "fence" who handles stolen money or items from a bank job.

Aggravated Offenses

Two circumstances dramatically increase penalties:

Dangerous weapon or assault (up to 25 years): If someone assaults any person, or uses a dangerous weapon or device, in the course of committing or fleeing from a bank robbery, the maximum jumps from 20 years to 25 years. The assault or weapon does not need to result in injury.

Murder, kidnapping, or hostage-taking (minimum 10 years to death): If, in the course of committing a bank robbery or while fleeing, someone kills anyone, forces anyone to accompany them against their will, or takes a hostage, the minimum sentence is 10 years and the maximum is life imprisonment. If a death results, the death penalty is available. The hostage-taking provision is frequently charged in cases where a teller or customer is ordered to accompany the robber after the crime.

Federal Carjacking (18 U.S.C. § 2119)

Carjacking became a federal crime in 1992 after a series of high-profile cases. Federal jurisdiction attaches when a vehicle moved in interstate commerce or was transported from abroad is taken by force — which, as a practical matter, means any car, truck, or SUV manufactured outside the state where the crime occurred (essentially all of them).

The key mental state requirement is that the defendant must have intended to cause death or serious bodily harm at the moment of taking. This does not require that the defendant actually hurt anyone — it requires only that the defendant was willing to do so if necessary to complete the theft. Courts have generally interpreted this broadly, and the government can prove this intent by showing the defendant brandished a weapon, made verbal threats, or acted in a way that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their life.

The three penalty tiers are:

• No injury: up to 15 years
• Serious bodily injury: up to 25 years (with cross-reference to serious bodily injury definition including sexual assault in special jurisdictions)
• Death results: fine, imprisonment for any term up to life, or death

Drug Store Robberies (18 U.S.C. § 2118)

The Controlled Substances chapter of the U.S. Code covers pharmacy robberies separately, but 18 U.S.C. § 2118 in the robbery chapter adds federal criminal authority for stealing controlled substances by force from any person, or breaking into any DEA-registered business premises to steal drugs.

Federal jurisdiction requires at least one of: the replacement cost exceeds $500, the perpetrator crossed state lines or used interstate communications, or someone was killed or seriously injured. The tiered penalties match bank robbery: up to 20 years ordinarily, up to 25 years if a dangerous weapon is used and someone is assaulted, and life (or death) if someone is killed. Conspiracy to commit the offense carries up to 10 years.

How Bank Robbery Investigations Work

Bank robbery is one of the FBI's oldest investigative categories. The FBI's Bank Crime Statistics track every federally insured institution robbery reported by local law enforcement, covering takeover robberies (where the robber physically enters and confronts staff), note jobs (where the robber passes a demand note), and custodian robberies (attacks on armored car couriers).

Banks are legally required to maintain security cameras, and the combination of surveillance footage, dye packs, GPS trackers embedded in bait bills, and extensive forensic capabilities gives the FBI a historically high clearance rate for bank robbery cases compared to many other violent crimes.

State charges often run in parallel with federal charges. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2117, for carrier break-ins, a state conviction or acquittal bars subsequent federal prosecution — but § 2113 has no such bar, and federal and state bank robbery prosecutions can proceed simultaneously.

How It Affects You

If you work at a bank, credit union, or savings institution: Federal law requires FDIC-insured institutions to report all robbery and burglary incidents to the FBI — this is non-negotiable compliance, not optional. Your institution's robbery response training (note-job vs. takeover protocol, dye pack activation, GPS bait bill placement) is shaped by FBI guidance, and your security camera systems are legally required. The FBI's Bank Crime Statistics track the average "take" per robbery nationally (as of 2024, hovering around $4,000–$7,000 per incident, far below Hollywood portrayals) and clearance rates (historically high — above 60% nationally, higher with surveillance footage). The practical implication for bank employees: cooperate and activate silent alarms; resist the impulse to intervene physically. Federal prosecutors take over any case involving a weapon, injury, or death — which means your deposition may occur in federal court on the government's timetable, not just local police timelines.

If you are a victim or witness to a bank robbery: The FBI leads these investigations, not just local police. You will likely be interviewed by an FBI Special Agent. Under the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act (18 U.S.C. § 3771), you have specific rights in a federal prosecution: the right to be informed about proceedings, the right to attend the trial, the right to be heard at sentencing, and the right to restitution. Federal restitution orders under 18 U.S.C. § 3663 require the defendant to pay back what was stolen — though actual collection depends on the defendant's ability to pay. If you were taken as a hostage during the robbery, § 2113's hostage-taking provision guarantees the perpetrator a minimum 10-year sentence on that count alone, separate from the robbery count itself.

If you are a criminal defense attorney or law student: § 2113 generates substantial case law on three frequently litigated issues. First, the "force or intimidation" standard: courts have consistently held that a demand note is sufficient to constitute intimidation even with no weapon, and the test is whether the note would cause a reasonable person to fear bodily harm — not the victim's subjective fear. Second, the "entering to commit a felony" provision (§ 2113(a), second paragraph): the government must prove the defendant's felony intent at the moment of entry into the bank, not just that a crime was committed inside — this creates a meaningful mens rea argument when the intent formed only after entry. Third, the "bank" definition: FDIC insurance coverage is the jurisdictional hook — but for credit unions, NCUA insurance is the equivalent; credit unions are explicitly covered in the statute, a distinction that matters for analyzing which entity's insurance triggers jurisdiction.

If you follow federal criminal justice policy: The FBI publishes Bank Crime Statistics annually (available at fbi.gov/investigate/violent-crime/bank-robbery), tracking robbery methods (note jobs vs. takeovers vs. custodian robberies), amounts taken, weapons used, injury rates, and clearance rates by FBI field office. Bank robbery volume peaked in the early 1990s (over 9,000 incidents per year), declined sharply as ATMs reduced vault cash and banks hardened targets, and has stabilized at roughly 1,500–2,500 incidents per year nationally. The trend in recent years is away from physical vault robberies toward armored car interdiction and pharmacy robberies targeting controlled substances — reflecting the shift in high-value targets as banks carry less accessible cash.

State Variations

Every state has its own robbery, burglary, and larceny statutes that apply to bank crimes independently of federal law. A bank robber will typically face both state and federal charges. State sentencing ranges vary widely; many states have mandatory minimums for armed robbery that may be more severe than or overlap with federal penalties. Federal prosecution is more likely when the crime involves multiple states, complex conspiracy, weapons, or serious injury — cases where federal resources and jurisdictional breadth give prosecutors advantages.

Implementing Regulations

The Federal Bank Robbery Act is primarily a criminal charging statute, so there is no standalone CFR part that implements 18 U.S.C. §§ 2111-2119 in the way an agency rule implements a benefits or regulatory program. In practice, the statute is enforced through FBI investigations, Department of Justice charging decisions, federal criminal procedure, and sentencing law. Bank security and reporting obligations may arise from separate banking regulations, but those rules do not redefine the elements of the robbery offenses themselves.

Pending Legislation

No major standalone rewrite of the Federal Bank Robbery Act is moving through the 119th Congress. Changes to penalties, federal investigative authorities, or related offenses are more likely to appear in broader criminal-justice, postal, controlled-substances, or annual authorization legislation than in a single omnibus "bank robbery" bill.

Recent Developments

Physical bank robbery remains a live federal enforcement category even as overall robbery volumes remain far below their late-20th-century highs. Modern cases are more likely to involve stacked charges: a bank robbery paired with firearm offenses, carjacking, conspiracy, or digital evidence recovered from phones, social media, ride-share data, or surveillance systems. Cases involving identity theft or wire fraud charges are increasingly common alongside traditional robbery counts.

Another practical shift is that the same federal robbery chapter now gets discussed alongside cyber-enabled financial crime rather than in isolation. Prosecutors still use §§ 2113, 2118, and 2119 when force, intimidation, or pharmacy theft is involved, but investigations increasingly combine traditional robbery evidence with electronic records, location data, and interstate transportation proof.

• Trump DOJ under AG Bondi (2025) shifted prosecutorial priorities toward immigration and political crimes; traditional bank robbery enforcement remains largely career-prosecutor territory insulated from political direction, with FBI field offices continuing standard § 2113 referrals.
• Digital evidence dominance: body camera footage, real-time license plate readers, and cell-site location data drive federal bank robbery clearance rates above 60% for in-person robberies; most in-person cases close within 72 hours of the offense.
• Cryptocurrency physical robbery — perpetrators forcing victims at gunpoint to surrender crypto seed phrases — has emerged as a new category; DOJ has used wire fraud and conspiracy charges where § 2113 applicability is debated because no insured institution is directly robbed.