§ 3056. Powers, authorities, and duties of United States Secret Service

6,615 words·~30 min read·/usc/title-18/section-3056

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(a)Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service is authorized to protect the following persons:

(1)The President, the Vice President (or other officer next in the order of succession to the Office of President), the President-elect, and the Vice President-elect.

(2)The immediate families of those individuals listed in paragraph (1).

(3)Former Presidents and their spouses for their lifetimes, except that protection of a spouse shall terminate in the event of remarriage.

(4)Children of a former President who are under 16 years of age.

(5)Visiting heads of foreign states or foreign governments.

(6)Other distinguished foreign visitors to the United States and official representatives of the United States performing special missions abroad when the President directs that such protection be provided.

(7)Major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and, within 120 days of the general Presidential election, the spouses of such candidates. As used in this paragraph, the term “major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates” means those individuals identified as such by the Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee. The Committee shall not be subject to chapter 10 of title 5.

(8)Former Vice Presidents, their spouses, and their children who are under 16 years of age, for a period of not more than six months after the date the former Vice President leaves office. The Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to direct the Secret Service to provide temporary protection for any of these individuals at any time thereafter if the Secretary of Homeland Security or designee determines that information or conditions warrant such protection.

The protection authorized in paragraphs

(2)through

(8)may be declined.

(b)Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is authorized to detect and arrest any person who violates—

(1)section 508, 509, 510, 871, or 879 of this title or, with respect to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal land banks, and Federal land bank associations, section 213, 216,1 433, 493, 657, 709, 1006, 1007, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1907, or 1909 of this title;

(2)any of the laws of the United States relating to coins, obligations, and securities of the United States and of foreign governments; or

(3)any of the laws of the United States relating to electronic fund transfer frauds, access device frauds, false identification documents or devices, and any fraud or other criminal or unlawful activity in or against any federally insured financial institution; except that the authority conferred by this paragraph shall be exercised subject to the agreement of the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security and shall not affect the authority of any other Federal law enforcement agency with respect to those laws.

(1)Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, officers and agents of the Secret Service are authorized to—

(A)execute warrants issued under the laws of the United States;

(B)carry firearms;

(C)make arrests without warrant for any offense against the United States committed in their presence, or for any felony cognizable under the laws of the United States if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing such felony;

(D)offer and pay rewards for services and information leading to the apprehension of persons involved in the violation or potential violation of those provisions of law which the Secret Service is authorized to enforce;

(E)pay expenses for unforeseen emergencies of a confidential nature under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security and accounted for solely on the Secretary’s certificate; and

(F)perform such other functions and duties as are authorized by law.

(2)Funds expended from appropriations available to the Secret Service for the purchase of counterfeits and subsequently recovered shall be reimbursed to the appropriations available to the Secret Service at the time of the reimbursement.

(d)Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs, resists, or interferes with a Federal law enforcement agent engaged in the performance of the protective functions authorized by this section or by section 1752 of this title shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

(1)When directed by the President, the United States Secret Service is authorized to participate, under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, in the planning, coordination, and implementation of security operations at special events of national significance, as determined by the President.

(2)At the end of each fiscal year, the President through such agency or office as the President may designate, shall report to the Congress—

(A)what events, if any, were designated special events of national significance for security purposes under paragraph (1); and

(B)the criteria and information used in making each designation.

(f)Under the direction of the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secret Service is authorized, at the request of any State or local law enforcement agency in conjunction with an investigation, or at the request of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, to provide forensic and investigative assistance.

(g)The United States Secret Service shall be maintained as a distinct entity within the Department of Homeland Security and shall not be merged with any other Department function. No personnel and operational elements of the United States Secret Service shall report to an individual other than the Director of the United States Secret Service, who shall report directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security without being required to report through any other official of the Department.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 818; July 16, 1951, ch. 226, § 4, 65 Stat. 122; Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1143, § 2, 68 Stat. 999; Pub. L. 86–168, title I, § 104(h), Aug. 18, 1959, 73 Stat. 387; Pub. L. 87–791, Oct. 10, 1962, 76 Stat. 809; Pub. L. 87–829, § 3, Oct. 15, 1962, 76 Stat. 956; Pub. L. 89–186, Sept. 15, 1965, 79 Stat. 791; Pub. L. 89–218, Sept. 29, 1965, 79 Stat. 890; Pub. L. 90–608, ch. XI, § 1101, Oct. 21, 1968, 82 Stat. 1198; Pub. L. 91–644, title V, § 19, Jan. 2, 1971, 84 Stat. 1892;

Pub. L. 91–651, § 4, Jan. 5, 1971, 84 Stat. 1941; Pub. L. 93–346, § 8, July 12, 1974, as added Pub. L. 93–552, title VI, § 609(a), Dec. 27, 1974, 88 Stat. 1765; Pub. L. 94–408, § 2, Sept. 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 1239; Pub. L. 97–297, § 3, Oct. 12, 1982, 96 Stat. 1318; Pub. L. 97–308, § 2, Oct. 14, 1982, 96 Stat. 1452; Pub. L. 98–151, § 115(b), Nov. 14, 1983, 97 Stat. 977; Pub. L. 98–587, § 1(a), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3110; Pub. L. 103–329, title V, § 530, Sept. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 2412;

Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 605(i), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3510; Pub. L. 106–544, § 3, Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2716; Pub. L. 107–56, title V, § 506(b), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 367; Pub. L. 107–296, title XVII, § 1703(a)(1), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2313; Pub. L. 108–21, title III, § 322, Apr. 30, 2003, 117 Stat. 665; Pub. L. 109–177, title VI, §§ 604, 607, 608(a), Mar. 9, 2006, 120 Stat. 253, 256; Pub. L. 110–326, title I, § 102, Sept. 26, 2008, 122 Stat. 3560; Pub. L. 112–257, § 2, Jan. 10, 2013, 126 Stat. 2413;

Pub. L. 115–393, title II, § 203, Dec. 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5271; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(135), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4320.)

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 148, and on sections 264(x) and 986 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking (Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 12B, subsection (x), as added June 16, 1933, ch. 89, § 8, 48 Stat. 178; July 17, 1916, ch. 245, § 31, sixth paragraph, 39 Stat. 382 (384); Dec. 11, 1926, ch. 2, § 3, 44 Stat. 918; Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, § 101, 49 Stat. 684, 703).

Section consolidates said section 148 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., and said sections 264(x) and 986 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking.

Said section 148 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking, was concerned with offenses relating to counterfeiting and passing, etc., of transportation requests and to the unlawful possession or making of plates, stones, etc., used in making such requests, which were defined in sections 146 and 147 of said title 18, now sections 508 and 509 of this title.

Said sections 264(x) and 986 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking, were concerned with various offenses as defined in sections 981–985, 987 of said title 12, relating to Federal land banks, joint-stock land banks and national farm loan associations, and as defined in section 264 of said title 12 relating to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. All of the provisions of said sections 981–985, 987 of said title 12, and the criminal provisions of said section 264 of said title 12, were transferred to this title where they were, in some instances, consolidated with similar provisions from other sections.

Such provisions are now incorporated in sections 218, 221, 433, 493, 657, 709, 1006, 1007, 1011, 1013, 1014, 1907, and 1909 of this title. In most instances, these sections, as the result of the consolidations, relate to other organizations as well as those mentioned above, but, by enumerating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal land banks, joint-stock land banks, and national farm loan associations in this section, the powers of the Secret Service are not broadened beyond what they were in said sections 264(x) and 986 of said title 12.

In this section, the wording of said section 148 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., and section 986 of title 12, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Banks and Banking reading “The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to direct and use the Secret Service Division of the Treasury Department” was adopted, rather than the wording of said section 264(x) of said title 12, which read “The Secret Service Division of the Treasury Department is authorized.”

Words “of the United States marshal having jurisdiction”, following “custody” in all three of said sections, were omitted as surplusage.

Changes were made in phraseology.

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