8 U.S.C. § 1450 — Functions and duties of clerks and records of declarations of intention and applications for naturalization

(a) Each court clerk who administers oaths of allegiance under section 1448 must do four things: (1) give each person who takes the oath under section 1448(a) the naturalization certificate prepared by the Attorney General^*; (2) within 30 days after the month ends, send the Attorney General a list of the people who actually took the oath at each scheduled ceremony and information about each of them; (3) send certified copies of other court proceedings and orders about naturalization whenever the Attorney General requires them; and (4) be responsible for all blank naturalization certificates received from the Attorney General and account for them whenever required. A certificate that is damaged so it cannot be used must not be destroyed; it must be returned to the Attorney General. (b) Each Service^* district office in the United States must keep all declarations of intention and naturalization applications filed there as permanent^* records. The records must be chronological, indexed, and consecutively numbered.