12 U.S.C. § 3403

Confidentiality of financial records

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(a) Release of records by financial institutions prohibited

No financial institution, or officer, employees, or agent of a financial institution, may provide to any Government authority access to or copies of, or the information contained in, the financial records of any customer except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b) Release of records upon certification of compliance with chapter

A financial institution shall not release the financial records of a customer until the Government authority seeking such records certifies in writing to the financial institution that it has complied with the applicable provisions of this chapter.

Nothing in this chapter shall preclude any financial institution, or any officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution, from notifying a Government authority that such institution, or officer, employee, or agent has information which may be relevant to a possible violation of any statute or regulation. Such information may include only the name or other identifying information concerning any individual, corporation, or account involved in and the nature of any suspected illegal activity. Such information may be disclosed notwithstanding any constitution, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision thereof to the contrary. Any financial institution, or officer, employee, or agent thereof, making a disclosure of information pursuant to this subsection, shall not be liable to the customer under any law or regulation of the United States or any constitution, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision thereof, for such disclosure or for any failure to notify the customer of such disclosure.

(d) Release of records as incident to perfection of security interest, proving a claim in bankruptcy, collecting a debt, or processing an application with regard to a Government loan, loan guarantee, etc.(1) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a financial institution, as an incident to perfecting a security interest, proving a claim in bankruptcy, or otherwise collecting on a debt owing either to the financial institution itself or in its role as a fiduciary, from providing copies of any financial record to any court or Government authority.(2) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a financial institution, as an incident to processing an application for assistance to a customer in the form of a Government loan, loan guaranty, or loan insurance agreement, or as an incident to processing a default on, or administering, a Government guaranteed or insured loan, from initiating contact with an appropriate Government authority for the purpose of providing any financial record necessary to permit such authority to carry out its responsibilities under a loan, loan guaranty, or loan insurance agreement.(Pub. L. 95–630, title XI, § 1103, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3698; Pub. L. 99–570, title I, § 1353(a), Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3207–21; Pub. L. 100–690, title VI, § 6186(a), Nov. 18, 1988, 102 Stat. 4357.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1988—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–690 inserted “, corporation,” after “individual”.

1986—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 99–570 inserted provisions that the disclosure of only the name or other identifying information concerning any individual or account involved in and the nature of any suspected illegal activity is permitted notwithstanding any constitution, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision thereof to the contrary, and any financial institutions, officers, agents, or employees thereof making such disclosure shall not be liable to the customer under any State constitution or any Federal, State, or local law or regulation for such disclosure or failure to notify the customer thereof.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective upon the expiration of 120 days after Nov. 10, 1978, see section 2101 of Pub. L. 95–630, set out as a note under section 375b of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 82 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1979–2023 · leading case: John Keith Blakely & John Emmett Long v. United States of Am., 276 F.3d 853 (6th Cir. 2002).

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John Keith Blakely & John Emmett Long v. United States of Am., 276 F.3d 853 (6th Cir. 2002). · cites it 4× “60(b)(3) requires such actions be entered into within one year after entry of the judgment; and (5) that 12 U.S.C. § 3403 (c) provided immunity to Oxford Bank from suit.”

United States v. Dewayne Lewis, Dewayne Lewis v. Susan Bolden, Branch Manager of the Midwest Am. Fed. Credit Union, 411 F.3d 838 (7th Cir. 2005). · cites it 3× “There she moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim, arguing both that the § 1983 claim failed for lack of state action and that the Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA), 12 U.S.C. § 3403 (a), which generally prohibits disclosure of financial records of customers, did not…”

Carpenter v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 2206 (2018). “”); Right to Financial Privacy Act, 12 U. S. C. §3403 (a) (“No financial institution, or officer, employees, or agent of a financial institution, may provide to any Government authority access to or copies of, or the information contained in, the financial records of any…”

Puerta v. United States, 121 F.3d 1338 (9th Cir. 1997). · cites it 9× “KLEINFELD, Circuit Judge: This case turns on an exception, 12 U.S.C. § 3403 (c), to the Right To Financial Privacy Act, 12 U.”

Patricia Gonzales Lopez v. First Union Nat'l Bank of Florida, Jose Daniel Ruiz Coronado v. Bankatlantic Bancorp, Inc., 129 F.3d 1186 (1st Cir. 1997). · cites it 4× “Among other things, the RFPA defines the conditions in which financial institutions may disclose an individual’s financial records, see 12 U.S.C. § 3403 , defines the conditions in which government officials may access an individual’s financial records, see 12 U.”

Nikrasch v. State, 698 S.W.2d 443 (Tex. App. 1985). · cites it 4× “Appellant argues that bank officials who cooperated with the police investigation of appellant violated 12 U.S.C.A. § 3403 (b) (1980), by providing the police with (1) information from Charlesworth's safety deposit box application and (2) information that Charlesworth had a…”

United States v. Whitty, 688 F. Supp. 48 (D. Me. 1988). · cites it 7× “12 U.S.C. § 3403 . 8 The Government concedes that the financial records of Whitty III and Tiny Tot were obtained without a search warrant, summons, subpoena, formal written request, or Whitty Ill’s consent.”

Waye v. First Citizen's Nat'l Bank, 846 F. Supp. 310 (M.D. Penn. 1994). · cites it 3× “12 U.S.C. § 3403 (a). We reject the bank’s argument that the cancelled checks are not financial records within the meaning of the Act.”

Sybil Young & Roderick Young v. United States Dep't of Just., Sybil Young & Roderick Young v. Chem. Bank, N.A., 882 F.2d 633 (2d Cir. 1989). · cites it 3× “12 U.S.C. § 3403 (c). 3 In fact, it felt so strongly about encouraging voluntary cooperation that it subsequently added a provision preempting any other state or federal law to the contrary.”

Mead v. City First Bank of DC, NA, 616 F. Supp. 2d 78 (D.D.C. 2009). · cites it 5× “§ 1331 , contending that Count II alleges a federal question under the Right to Financial Privacy Act (“RFPA”), 12 U.S.C. §§ 3403 and 3417. Defendant City First' Bank of DC has moved to dismiss Count II under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter…”

Maria Del Carmen Miranda De Villalba v. Coutts & Co. (Usa) Int'l, 250 F.3d 1351 (11th Cir. 2001). · cites it 3× “See 12 U.S.C. § 3403 (c). Maria Villalba appeals from a judgment of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Alan S.”

Abdelfattah v. United States Dep't of Homeland Sec., 787 F.3d 524 (D.C. Cir. 2015). “2013) (per curiam) (quoting 12 U.S.C. § 3403 (a)). These procedures include receiving the customer’s authorization to release the record or obtaining a valid subpoena or warrant.”

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