I have debt related to a federal court case. What can I do?
Up to this point, this Court-Ordered Debt Chapter has only covered debts that were ordered by a California state court, and NOT debts ordered by a federal court.
If you have debts that stem from a federal offense, your court-ordered debt will look different, because federal courts have their own rules for restitution, fines, and fees. However, these three general types of debt are the same in the federal system:
- Restitution: Repays any victims (people, organizations, government agencies, etc.) that suffered harm, property damage, or monetary losses caused by your actions.[2251] This is like victim restitution in state court.
- Fines: Serve as additional punishment for your offense and are part of your criminal sentence.[2252] The amount of the fine will depend on the crime for which you were convicted.[2253] These are like fines and penalties in state court.
- Special Assessments: Fees assigned for each separate offense you were convicted of. The amount of the Assessment depends on the seriousness of the offense. ALL of your federal Special Assessment debt will be forgiven 5 years after your conviction, after which you will no longer owe this debt.[2254]
WARNING: Just like for state court debt, you may also owe additional interest or other penalties on your federal court-ordered debt (for example, if you don’t make required payments on time).
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For more information on federal court-ordered debt
- If you have questions about your federal court-ordered debt, you should contact your federal public defender or the federal public defender office in your area.To find out how much you owe, contact the federal district court where you were convicted. You will need to speak with the Finance Department to find out your balance. To find out if you owe additional interest or penalties, you will need to contact the U.S. Attorney’s Financial Litigation (Collections) Unit to learn about these additional amounts.Your federal probation officer may also be able to answer questions about your court-ordered debt, such as how much you owe and/or how to make payments.