5 C.F.R. § 2635.702

An employee may not use their public office for their own private gain; for the endorsement of any product, service, or enterprise (except as otherwise permitted by this part or other applicable law or regulation); or for the private gain of friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity, including nonprofit organizations of which the employee is an officer or member, and persons with whom the employee has or seeks employment or business relations. The specific prohibitions set forth in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section apply this general standard, but are not intended to be exclusive or to limit the application of this section.

(a) Inducement or coercion of benefits. Employees may not use or permit the use of their Government position or title, or any authority associated with their public office, in a manner that is intended to coerce or induce another person, including a subordinate, to provide any benefit, financial or otherwise, to the employee or to friends, relatives, or persons with whom the employee is affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity.

Example 1 to paragraph (a): Offering to pursue a relative's consumer complaint over a household appliance, an employee of the Securities and Exchange Commission called the general counsel of the manufacturer and, in the course of discussing the problem, stated that they worked at the SEC and were responsible for reviewing the company's filings. The employee violated the prohibition against use of public office for private gain by invoking their official authority in an attempt to influence action to benefit the relative.

Example 2 to paragraph (a): An employee of the Department of Commerce was asked by a friend to determine why another office within the Department of Commerce had not yet granted an export license to the friend's firm. At a department-level staff meeting, the employee raised as a matter for official inquiry the delay in approval of the particular license and asked that the particular license be expedited. The official used their public office in an attempt to benefit the friend and, in acting as the friend's agent for the purpose of pursuing the export license with the Department of Commerce, may also have violated 18 U.S.C. 205.

(b) Appearance of governmental sanction. Except as otherwise provided in this part, employees may not use or permit the use of their Government position or title, or any authority associated with their public office, in a manner that could reasonably be construed to imply that their agency or the Government sanctions or endorses their personal activities or those of another. When teaching, speaking, or writing in a personal capacity, employees may refer to their official title or position only as permitted by § 2635.807(b). When providing a verbal or written recommendation, employees may only use their official title in response to a request for a recommendation or character reference based upon personal knowledge of the ability or character of an individual with whom they have dealt in the course of Federal employment or whom they are recommending for Federal employment.

Example 1 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Department of the Treasury who is asked to provide a letter of recommendation for a former subordinate or for an individual who worked for their team under a Government contract may provide the recommendation using official stationery and may sign the letter using their official title. If, however, the request is for the recommendation of a personal friend with whom they have not dealt in the Government, the employee should not use official stationery or sign the letter of recommendation using their official title, unless the recommendation is for Federal employment. In writing the letter of recommendation for the personal friend, it may be appropriate for the employee to make a reference to their official position in the body of the letter.

Example 2 to paragraph (b): An employee of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a personal social media account. Under “occupation,” the employee writes “Analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency.” On the same social media account, the EPA employee occasionally discusses topics related to the environment, such as recycling, biking to work, and organic gardening. Even though the employee is discussing matters related to the EPA's mission and lists their position in the area designated for occupation, these facts alone would not reasonably be construed as implying governmental sanction or endorsement. The same employee may not, for example, redesign the social media account so that it prominently features the official EPA seal and make statements that either assert or imply that their opinions on environmental topics are sanctioned or endorsed by the Government.

(c) Endorsements. Employees may not use or permit the use of their Government position or title or any authority associated with their public office to endorse any product, service, or enterprise except:

(1) In furtherance of statutory authority to promote products, services, or enterprises; or

(2) As a result of documentation of compliance with agency requirements or standards or as the result of recognition for achievement given under an agency program of recognition for accomplishment in support of the agency's mission.

Example 1 to paragraph (c): A Commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may not appear in a television commercial and endorse an electrical appliance produced by a former employer, stating that it has been found by the CPSC to be safe for residential use.

Example 2 to paragraph (c): A Foreign Commercial Service officer from the Department of Commerce is asked by a United States telecommunications company to meet with representatives of the government of Spain, which is in the process of procuring telecommunications services and equipment. The company is bidding against five European companies, and the statutory mission of the Department of Commerce includes assisting the export activities of U.S. companies. As part of official duty activities, the Foreign Commercial Service officer may meet with Spanish officials and explain the advantages of procurement from the United States company.

Example 3 to paragraph (c): The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency may sign a letter to an oil company indicating that its refining operations are in compliance with Federal air quality standards even though the Administrator knows that the company has routinely displayed letters of this type in television commercials portraying it as a “trustee of the environment for future generations.”

Example 4 to paragraph (c): An Assistant Attorney General may not use their official title or refer to their Government position in a book jacket endorsement of a novel about organized crime written by an author whose work they admire. Nor may they do so in a book review published in a newspaper.

(d) Performance of official duties affecting a private interest. To ensure that the performance of their official duties does not give rise to an appearance of use of public office for private gain or of giving preferential treatment, employees whose duties would affect the financial interests of a friend, relative, or person with whom they are affiliated in a nongovernmental capacity must comply with any applicable requirements of § 2635.502.

(e) Use of terms of address and ranks. Nothing in this section prohibits an employee who is ordinarily addressed using a general term of address, such as “The Honorable” or “Judge,” or a rank, such as a military or ambassadorial rank, from using that term of address or rank in connection with a personal activity.