42 U.S.C. § 1306c — Restriction on access to the Death Master File

(a) In general. For three calendar years beginning on a person’s death date, the Secretary of Commerce may not disclose information about that deceased person in the Death Master File unless the recipient is certified under (b). (b) Certification program. (1) The Secretary must establish a program to certify eligible people and to conduct periodic and unscheduled audits of certified people. (2) A person may be certified only if the person states that access is appropriate because of a legitimate fraud-prevention interest or legitimate business purpose under law, rule, regulation, or fiduciary duty; has systems, facilities, procedures, and experience to protect confidentiality, security, and proper use under safeguards similar to Internal Revenue Code section 6103(p)(4); and agrees to satisfy that section as if it applied to the person. (3) The Secretary must set fees under 31 U.S.C. §9701 that cover, but do not exceed, certification-review and audit, inspection, and monitoring costs. The fees are credited as offsetting collections to the accounts paying those costs. Each year the Secretary must report the fees collected and program costs to the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee. (c) Penalty. (1) A certified recipient that receives covered information, and during the three-year period discloses it to an unqualified person, discloses it to someone using it for an unapproved purpose or who will further disclose it to an unqualified person, or uses it for an unapproved purpose, must pay $1,000 for each disclosure or use. The same applies to a person who receives the information and then makes such a disclosure or use. (2) The penalty for one person in one calendar year is capped at $250,000, unless the Secretary finds the violations willful or intentional. (d) “Death Master File” means the Social Security Commissioner’s information about deceased people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and death dates, excluding information provided under section 405(r). This section does not define the other terms it uses. (e) FOIA. (1) A federal agency may not be compelled to disclose subsection (a) information to an uncertified person. (2) For 5 U.S.C. §552, this section is treated as a statute described in §552(b)(3). (f) Effective date. (1) Except for (2), the section takes effect 90 days after December 26, 2013. (2) Subsection (e) takes effect on December 26, 2013.