US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

18 U.S.C. § 3614

Resentencing upon failure to pay a fine or restitution

(a)

Resentencing .—

Subject to the provisions of subsection (b), if a defendant knowingly fails to pay a delinquent fine or restitution the court may resentence the defendant to any sentence which might originally have been imposed.
(b)

Imprisonment .—

The defendant may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment under subsection (a) only if the court determines that—
(1)
the defendant willfully refused to pay the delinquent fine or had failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts to pay the fine; or
(2)
in light of the nature of the offense and the characteristics of the person, alternatives to imprisonment are not adequate to serve the purposes of punishment and deterrence.
(c)

Effect of Indigency .—

In no event shall a defendant be incarcerated under this section solely on the basis of inability to make payments because the defendant is indigent.

Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 212(a)(2)98 Stat. 2006Pub. L. 104–132, title II, § 207(c)(5)110 Stat. 1240(Added , , ; amended , , .)

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

section 3601 of this titleFor a prior section 3614, applicable to offenses committed prior to , see note set out preceding .

Amendments

Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(A)1996—, inserted “or restitution” after “fine” in section catchline.

Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(B)Subsec. (a). , inserted “or restitution” after “fine”.

Pub. L. 104–232, § 207(c)(5)(C)Subsec. (c). , added subsec. (c).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1996 Amendment

Pub. L. 104–132section 211 of Pub. L. 104–132section 2248 of this titleAmendment by to be effective, to extent constitutionally permissible, for sentencing proceedings in cases in which defendant is convicted on or after , see , set out as a note under .

Effective Date

section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473section 3551 of this titleSection effective , and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of this section, see , set out as a note under .