Laws & Regulations

Are you a lawyer or financial advisor working with a client who owns Treasury securities? A law student researching a paper? Or just curious about the laws and regulations our programs are based on? This page links you to the relevant information.

These are the laws that authorize us to sell securities and that govern securities brokers and dealers.

• Sale of Treasury Securities — 31 U.S.C. Title 31, Subtitle III, Subchapter I authorizes Treasury to borrow money; Subtitle II governs the administration of debt.
• Government Securities Act — 15 U.S.C. Chapter 2B Section 78o-5 governs government securities brokers and dealers.

Regulations tell how to carry out the laws. Treasury's regulations are in Title 31 of the Code of Federal Regulations (31 CFR); Government Securities Act regulations are in Title 17. Current rules are at ecfr.gov.

More detailed pages: savings bond laws and regulations, Treasury Marketable securities laws and regulations, auction laws and regulations (the Uniform Offering Circular), and Government Securities Act (GSA) regulations.

The Federal Register is the daily publication related to the CFR, and includes notices and other important information about proposed changes, organized by year from 1996 to present.