How to Find Out How Much Restitution You Owe: Sources and Balances

To find out how much restitution you owe, contact the clerk of the court that sentenced you and ask for your current balance, or ask your probation or parole officer if you’re still on supervision. Either source can pull up the total ordered, the amount you’ve paid, and any interest that has accrued since the judgment. Have your case number and full legal name ready before you call.

Start With Your Sentencing Order

The judgment issued at sentencing is the anchor document. In federal cases it’s typically titled a “Judgment in a Criminal Case,” and state courts use similar names. It lists the total dollar amount, identifies each victim, states how much is owed to each one, and sets your payment schedule.

Treat this document as a starting line, not a finish line. It shows the principal the court imposed. It does not reflect payments you’ve made since or interest that has built up. If you don’t have a copy, request one from the clerk of the court where you were sentenced. You’ll need your case number (sometimes called a docket number), your full legal name, and the court’s location.

Call the Clerk of the Sentencing Court

The clerk’s office at the court that sentenced you is the most reliable source for a current balance. Clerks manage the court’s financial system and can pull up a complete record of every payment credited to your account. Contact information is on the court’s official website. For federal cases, you can locate the correct court through the federal judiciary at uscourts.gov.

When you call or visit, tell the clerk you need your current restitution balance and ask them to confirm three figures: the total amount ordered, the amount paid to date, and the remaining balance including any accrued interest. Ask for a printed or emailed payment history. That history is your proof that payments were properly credited, and it’s worth checking at least once a year. Errors happen, and catching them early is far easier than disputing a balance years later.

Many clerks’ offices also accept payments directly, whether online, by mail, or in person. If you make a payment while you’re there, get a receipt and keep it. Under federal law, the clerk must notify the Attorney General of each payment received.¹ Your own records serve as backup if something falls through the cracks.

Ask Your Probation or Parole Officer

If you’re currently on probation or supervised release, your supervising officer is another direct line to your balance. Paying restitution is automatically a condition of federal supervision, and your officer is responsible for monitoring whether you’re keeping up.² Most probation officers can look up your balance in their own system or point you to the right department.

Your officer isn’t just passively tracking payments. Federal probation officers conduct ongoing verification of your financial situation, and you’re required to provide a financial affidavit and authorize access to your credit reports and financial records.³ If your income or expenses have shifted, raise it with your officer before you miss a payment rather than after.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

A short list of information will help staff locate your file quickly:

Case number. The fastest way to pull up your record. It appears on your sentencing order and any court correspondence.
Full legal name and date of birth. Used to verify your identity, especially if the case number isn’t handy.
Court location. The county and specific courthouse where your case was heard, which matters when a county has more than one branch.
Payment records. Receipts, bank statements showing payments, or confirmation numbers from online transactions. These resolve discrepancies when court records don’t match yours.

Checking Online

For federal cases, the PACER system (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) lets registered users search filings by case number or party name. PACER gives you access to docket entries and filed documents, including the original judgment, so you can confirm the amount ordered and review any modifications.⁴ What PACER generally does not show is a running payment ledger or current balance. For that, you still need the clerk’s office.

State courts vary widely. Some states run online portals where you can look up your case, see your balance, and even make payments. Others handle everything by phone or in person. Search your state’s judicial branch website for “case lookup” or “pay fines and restitution” to see what’s available. If nothing turns up online, a call to the clerk will get you the same information.

State Restitution Collection Agencies

Many states have set up centralized offices to collect and distribute restitution payments, sometimes housed within a victim compensation program. These agencies can help when you’re not sure which county-level office handles your account, or when your case involved victims in multiple jurisdictions.⁵ Search for your state’s name plus “restitution collection” or “crime victim compensation.” The agency’s website may have a portal for balance lookups using your case number.

Why Your Balance May Be Higher Than the Original Order

Federal law requires interest on any restitution amount over $2,500 unless you paid the full balance within fifteen days of the judgment. Interest is calculated daily at a rate tied to the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield published by the Federal Reserve for the week before the obligation kicked in.¹ Interest starts early and compounds. If you were sentenced years ago and have been making minimum payments, the gap between the original order and your current balance can be significant.

Many state courts impose interest as well, though rates and rules vary. Some states set a flat statutory rate; others follow a formula similar to the federal model. When you contact the clerk or your probation officer, ask for both the remaining principal and the total balance including interest. The difference between those two numbers is how much interest has built up.

If the Payment Schedule Is No Longer Realistic

If your financial situation has changed materially since sentencing, you can ask the court to adjust your schedule. Under federal law, you’re required to notify the court and the Attorney General of any significant change in your finances that might affect your ability to pay. Once that notice is filed, the court can modify the schedule on its own or in response to a motion from you, the government, or the victim.⁶

A modification changes the payment schedule, not the total owed. The court can lower monthly payments, restructure timing, or require immediate payment in full if your situation has improved. The court originally sets the schedule based on the shortest time frame in which full payment can reasonably be made, considering your resources and earning ability.⁷ If a job loss, medical emergency, or other hardship makes the current schedule impossible, a documented modification request is far better than simply stopping payments. If you’re on supervision, talk to your probation officer first.

If You Fall Behind

Restitution doesn’t go away when you ignore it. Once your balance is classified as delinquent, the Attorney General must notify you within ten working days. If it goes into default, another notice tells you that the entire unpaid balance, including interest and penalties, is due within thirty days.¹

If you’re on probation or supervised release, falling behind can trigger a violation and a referral back to the court. For a knowing failure to pay, a federal court can resentence you to any sentence that could have been imposed originally, including imprisonment. The court must find that you willfully refused to pay or failed to make genuine efforts to do so. A court cannot imprison you solely because you’re too poor to pay.⁸

A federal restitution order also acts as a lien on your property, similar to an IRS tax lien, and the government can enforce it as a civil judgment, including through wage garnishment.⁹ Bankruptcy does not clear the debt. Federal law explicitly excludes title 18 restitution from discharge, so filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 will not eliminate it.¹⁰

How Long the Obligation Lasts

Federal restitution outlasts supervision. The Department of Justice’s Financial Litigation Unit pursues collection for twenty years from the date of the judgment plus any time you spent incarcerated, or until the defendant dies.² The statutory lien on your property follows the same timeline: twenty years from the judgment or twenty years after your release from prison, whichever comes later.⁹ Even after probation or parole ends, the balance is still there and still accruing interest, so checking in with the clerk periodically is the simplest way to stay on top of it.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3612 – Collection of an Unpaid Fine or Restitution
2
U.S. Department of Justice. Criminal Division – Restitution Process
3
United States Courts. Chapter 3 – Financial Requirements and Restrictions
4
Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Public Access to Court Electronic Records
5
Office for Victims of Crime. Restitution – Making It Work
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3664 – Procedure for Issuance and Enforcement of Order of Restitution
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3572 – Imposition of a Sentence of Fine and Related Matters
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3614 – Resentencing Upon Failure to Pay a Fine or Restitution
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3613 – Civil Remedies for Satisfaction of an Unpaid Fine
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge