Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act of 1990

The Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act of 1990 (FDCPA), Title XXXVI of the Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-647, 104 Stat. 4789, 4933 (Nov. 29, 1990), is a United States federal law passed in 1990, affecting collection of money owed to the United States government. The FDCPA preempts state remedy laws in most circumstances.^[1]

Subchapters

The Act is codified in Chapter 176 of Title 28 of the United States Code, in four subchapters:

• SUBCHAPTER A—DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 3001–3015)
• SUBCHAPTER B—PREJUDGMENT REMEDIES (§§ 3101–3105)
• SUBCHAPTER C—POSTJUDGMENT REMEDIES (§§ 3201–3206)
• SUBCHAPTER D—FRAUDULENT TRANSFERS INVOLVING DEBTS (§§ 3301–3308)

Information

A provision of the Act states that a person or organization indebted to the United States, against whom a judgment lien has been filed, is ineligible to receive a government grant, including disaster loans.^[2]

Noncompliance, depending on severity and frequency, may be punished by fine or even incarceration. FDCPA also allows the federal government to reclaim money that was fraudulently transferred.^[1][3]

The Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act of 1990 consists of sections 3601 through 3631 of the Crime Control Act of 1990.