What administrative actions may the Secretary take to collect a debt?
34 C.F.R. § 30.1
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) The Secretary may take one or more of the following actions to collect a debt owed to the United States:
(1) Collect the debt under the procedures authorized in the regulations in this part.
(2) Refer the debt to the General Accounting Office for collection.
(3) Refer the debt to the Department of Justice for compromise, collection, or litigation.
(4) Take any other action authorized by law.
(b) In taking any of the actions listed in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary complies with the requirements of the Federal Claims Collection Standards (FCCS) at 4 CFR parts 101-105 that are not inconsistent with the requirements of this part.
(c) The Secretary may—
(1) Collect the debt under the offset procedures in subpart C of this part;
(2) Report a debt to a consumer reporting agency under the procedures in subpart C of this part;
(3) Charge interest on the debt as provided in the FCCS;
(4) Impose upon a debtor a charge based on the costs of collection as determined under subpart E of this part;
(5) Impose upon a debtor a penalty for failure to pay a debt when due under subpart E of this part;
(6) Compromise a debt, or suspend or terminate collection of a debt, under subpart F of this part;
(7) Take any other actions under the procedures of the FCCS in order to protect the United States Government's interests; or
(8) Use any combination of the procedures listed in this paragraph (c) as may be appropriate in a particular case.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-34.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026