This part establishes Bureau procedures for the collection of certain debts owed to the United States.

(a) This part applies to collections by the Bureau from:

(1) Federal employees who are indebted to the Bureau;

(2) Employees of the Bureau who are indebted to other agencies; and

(3) Other persons, organizations, or entities that are indebted to the United States, except those excluded in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) This part does not apply:

(1) To debts or claims arising under the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26, U.S. Code), the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), or the tariff laws of the United States;

(2) To a situation to which the Contract Disputes Act (41 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) applies; or

(3) To debts arising out of acquisition contracts subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulation. These debts shall be determined, collected, compromised, terminated, or settled in accordance with that regulation (see 48 CFR part 32).

(4) In any other case where collection of a debt is exclusively provided for or prohibited by another statute or applicable regulation.

(c) In addition to the procedures set forth in this part, the Bureau shall also follow the procedures set forth in 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, for the collection by offset from indebted government employees, and in 31 CFR part 285 and the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS) (31 CFR chapter IX and parts 900 through 904) for the collection of debts owed to the United States.

(d) Nothing in this part precludes the compromise, suspension, or termination of collection actions, where appropriate, under standards implementing the Debt Collection Improvement Act (DCIA) (31 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.), the FCCS, or any other applicable law.

The purpose of this part is to implement Federal statutes and regulatory standards authorizing the Bureau to collect debts owed to the United States. This part is intended to be consistent with the following Federal statutes and regulations:

(1) DCIA at 31 U.S.C. 3711 (collection and compromise of claims), section 3716 (administrative offset), section 3717 (interest and penalty on claims), and section 3718 (contracts for collection services); 31 CFR part 285 (debt collection authorities under the DCIA)

(2) 31 CFR chapter IX and parts 900 through 904 (FCCS);

(3) 5 U.S.C. 5514, 5 CFR part 550, subpart K (salary offset);

(4) 5 U.S.C. 5584 (waiver of claims for overpayment);

(5) 31 U.S.C. 3720D, 31 CFR 285.11 (administrative wage garnishment); and

(6) 26 U.S.C. 6402(d), 31 U.S.C. 3720A, and 31 CFR 285.2 (tax refund offset).

Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions shall apply to this part.

Administrative offset means withholding funds payable by the United States to, or held by the United States for, a person to satisfy a debt.

Agency means a department, agency, court, court administrative office, or instrumentality in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch of the Federal government, including government corporations.

Bureau or CFPB means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

Centralized administrative offset means an offset initiated by referral to the Secretary of the Treasury, or where applicable a debt collection center designated by the Department of the Treasury, by a creditor agency of a past due debt for the purpose of collection under the Treasury's centralized offset program.

Certification means a written statement transmitted from a creditor agency to a paying agency for purposes of administrative or salary offset, to the Financial Management Service (FMS) for offset or to the Secretary of the Treasury for centralized administrative offset. The certification confirms the existence and amount of the debt and verifies that the creditor agency has afforded the debtor the required procedural protections. Where the debtor requests a hearing on a claimed debt, the decision by a hearing official or administrative law judge constitutes a certification.

Compromise means the settlement or forgiveness of a debt under 31 U.S.C. 3711, in accordance with standards set forth in the FCCS and applicable Federal law.

Creditor agency means an agency of the Federal Government to which the debt is owed, or a debt collection center when acting on behalf of a creditor agency to collect a debt. An agency may be both the creditor agency and the paying agency.

Debt or claim means an amount of money, funds, or property that has been determined by an agency official to be due the United States from any person, organization, or entity, except another Federal entity. For purposes of this part, a debt or claim owed to the Bureau constitutes a debt or claim owed to the United States.

Debt collection center means the Department of the Treasury or other government agency or division designated by the Secretary of the Treasury with authority to collect debts on behalf of creditor agencies in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 3711(g).

Debtor means a person who owes a debt or a claim. The term “person” includes any individual, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency.

Director means the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection or the Director's designee.

Disposable pay means that part of current adjusted basic pay, special pay, incentive pay, retired pay, retainer pay, and, in the case of an employee not entitled to adjusted basic pay, other authorized pay, remaining for each pay period after the deduction of any amount required by law to be withheld.

Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS) means standards published at 31 CFR Parts 900 through 904.

Financial Management Service (FMS) is a Bureau of the Department of the Treasury.

Garnishment means the process of withholding amounts from the disposable pay of a person employed outside the Federal Government, and the paying of those amounts to a creditor in satisfaction of a withholding order.

Non-centralized administrative offset means offsets that an agency conducts, at the agency's discretion, internally or in cooperation with the agency certifying or authorizing payment to the debtor.

Notice of Intent to Offset or Notice of Intent means a written notice from a creditor agency to an employee, organization, entity, or restitution debtor that claims a debt and informs the debtor that the creditor agency intends to collect the debt by administrative or salary offset. The notice also informs the debtor of certain procedural rights with respect to the claimed debt and respective offset procedure.

Paying agency means the agency of the Federal Government that withholds funds payable to a person who owes a debt to an agency of the Federal Government. The term “person” includes any individual, organization, or entity, except another Federal agency. An agency may be both the creditor agency and the paying agency.

Recoupment means a special method of adjusting debts arising under the same transaction or occurrence.

Salary offset means an administrative offset to collect a debt under 5 U.S.C. 5514 by deduction(s) at one or more officially established pay intervals from the current pay account of a Federal employee without his or her consent.

Withholding order means any order for withholding or garnishment of pay issued by an agency, or judicial or administrative body.