18 USC 3014: The $5,000 Assessment, Indigency, and Collection

Under 18 U.S.C. § 3014, federal courts must impose a $5,000 special assessment on every non-indigent person or entity convicted of certain trafficking, sexual abuse, exploitation, and human smuggling offenses. The charge applies per qualifying count, so three convictions mean $15,000. The money is deposited into the Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund, a dedicated Treasury account that pays for survivor services.¹

Which Convictions Trigger the Assessment

Five categories of federal offenses bring the $5,000 charge into play:¹

Chapter 77 offenses involving trafficking in persons, including forced labor, sex trafficking, sex trafficking of children, involuntary servitude, peonage, and slavery.
Chapter 109A sexual abuse offenses, including aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor or ward, and abusive sexual contact.
Chapter 110 offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children, including the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual abuse material.
Chapter 117 offenses involving the transportation of individuals across state lines for prostitution or other prohibited sexual conduct.
Human smuggling offenses under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, which cover bringing unauthorized individuals into the United States, harboring them, or transporting them in furtherance of their unlawful presence.²

One carve-out sits inside the smuggling category. A defendant who helped only their own spouse, parent, son, or daughter enter the country illegally, and no one else, is not subject to the assessment.¹

How the $5,000 Stacks Per Count

The assessment is $5,000 per qualifying count of conviction, not $5,000 per defendant.¹ Federal trafficking and exploitation cases often involve multiple counts, and courts in the Third, Tenth, and other circuits have confirmed that the statute requires a separate $5,000 assessment on each one.³ Six qualifying counts produce a $30,000 assessment before any fine or restitution is calculated.

There is no aggregate cap in the statute. The math is simple multiplication regardless of how many counts a jury or plea covers.

The § 3014 charge is also on top of the standard $100-per-felony special assessment under 18 U.S.C. § 3013.⁴ A single qualifying felony conviction therefore carries at least $5,100 in mandatory assessments before any other financial penalty.

Who Counts as Indigent

The assessment applies only to non-indigent defendants. Courts use a two-part test. The judge first considers whether the defendant qualified for appointed counsel at the time of sentencing, then evaluates whether the defendant has the capacity to pay, either now or over the 20-year collection window.⁵

The Seventh Circuit has said judges should take a “practical and realistic view” of a defendant’s finances, weighing education, skills, work experience, and current assets to project future earning capacity. Because collection can stretch 20 years, a defendant who is broke at sentencing but young and employable can still be found non-indigent. Defense attorneys most commonly contest the assessment on this ground, and the fight usually turns on projected post-release earnings rather than what sits in a bank account today.

Corporate and organizational defendants convicted of qualifying offenses face the same $5,000 per-count charge, evaluated under the same general financial-capacity analysis.¹

Where the Assessment Sits in the Payment Order

Section 3014 sits at the bottom of the payment stack. It does not become payable until the defendant has satisfied every other court-ordered financial obligation from the same case, including fines, restitution to victims, and any other victim-compensation orders.¹ Every dollar collected goes first to restitution and fines. Only after those are paid in full does the government begin applying money to the trafficking victims assessment.

In cases with heavy restitution orders, the assessment may never actually be collected, or collection may be delayed for years. The obligation remains on the books either way.

How Long the Government Has to Collect

The government enforces the assessment using the same tools available for any unpaid federal criminal fine, including the civil remedies under 18 U.S.C. § 3613: liens, garnishment, and other collection actions.¹

The collection window runs for 20 years from the entry of judgment or 20 years from the defendant’s release from prison, whichever is later.⁶ For a defendant serving a 15-year sentence, the post-release clock does not start until the day of release. Under § 3014(g), the duty to pay does not end until the assessment is satisfied in full.⁷

The assessment is individual. The statute directs courts to impose $5,000 on “any non-indigent person or entity convicted,” so co-defendants each owe their own charge on their own qualifying counts. The amount is not shared or divided among participants in the same scheme.

Where the Money Goes

All collected amounts flow into the Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund, a dedicated Treasury account.¹ The Attorney General, together with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, uses the fund to award grants under federal trafficking, child abuse, and online exploitation programs. The fund operates without further appropriation, so the Attorney General can distribute money directly without separate annual spending authorization.

A Permanent Feature After 2026

Section 3014 was originally enacted as part of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 with a sunset date, most recently set to expire on September 30, 2025. In 2026, Congress removed the expiration date entirely through Public Law 119-75, striking the “ending on September 30, 2025” language from the statute.¹ The $5,000 assessment is now a permanent part of federal sentencing for qualifying offenses.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3014 – Additional Special Assessment
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 US Code 1324 – Bringing in and Harboring Certain Aliens
3
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. No. 18-2048
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3013 – Special Assessment on Convicted Persons
5
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. United States v. Cash R. Otradovec
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3613 – Civil Remedies for Satisfaction of an Unpaid Fine
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3014 – Additional Special Assessment