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12 U.S.C. 3401 RFPA · Chapter 35: RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY

12 U.S.C. 3401 RFPA: Definitions

United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026.

Official text

For the purpose of this chapter, the term⁠—
“financial institution”, except as provided in section 3414 of this title, means any office of a bank, savings bank, card issuer as defined in section 1602(n) 1 of title 15, industrial loan company, trust company, savings association, building and loan, or homestead association (including cooperative banks), credit union, or consumer finance institution, located in any State or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the Virgin Islands;
“financial record” means an original of, a copy of, or information known to have been derived from, any record held by a financial institution pertaining to a customer’s relationship with the financial institution;
“Government authority” means any agency or department of the United States, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof;
“person” means an individual or a partnership of five or fewer individuals;
“customer” means any person or authorized representative of that person who utilized or is utilizing any service of a financial institution, or for whom a financial institution is acting or has acted as a fiduciary, in relation to an account maintained in the person’s name;
“holding company” means⁠—
any bank holding company (as defined in section 1841 of this title); and
any company described in section 1843(f)(1) of this title;
“supervisory agency” means with respect to any particular financial institution, holding company, or any subsidiary of a financial institution or holding company, any of the following which has statutory authority to examine the financial condition, business operations, or records or transactions of that institution, holding company, or subsidiary⁠—
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection;
the National Credit Union Administration;
the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
the Comptroller of the Currency;
the Securities and Exchange Commission;
the Commodity Futures Trading Commission;
the Secretary of the Treasury, with respect to the Bank Secrecy Act (Public Law 91–508, title I) [12 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.] and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31; or
any State banking or securities department or agency; and
“law enforcement inquiry” means a lawful investigation or official proceeding inquiring into a violation of, or failure to comply with, any criminal or civil statute or any regulation, rule, or order issued pursuant thereto.

Notes in the official text

  1. (1) See References in Text note below.

Source: United States Code, title 12, published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives (uscode.house.gov), release point 119-136. The editorial and statutory notes are not reproduced.

Source credit: ( Pub. L. 95-630, title XI, § 1101 , Nov. 10, 1978 , 92 Stat. 3697 ; Pub. L. 101-73, title VII, § 744(b) , title IX, § 941, Aug. 9, 1989 , 103 Stat. 438 , 496; Pub. L. 101-647, title XXV, § 2596(c) , Nov. 29, 1990 , 104 Stat. 4908 ; Pub. L. 106-102, title VII, § 727(b)(1) , Nov. 12, 1999 , 113 Stat. 1475 ; Pub. L. 108-177, title III, § 374(b) , Dec. 13, 2003 , 117 Stat. 2628 ; Pub. L. 111-203, title X, § 1099(1) , July 21, 2010 , 124 Stat. 2105 .)

12 U.S.C. 3401 on the Office of the Law Revision Counsel

United States Code, current through Public Law 119-136 (October 22, 2026). Retrieved 30 October 2026.

This is reference material, not legal advice.