(a) Format of the request.

(1) When the Department is the paying agency and another agency is the creditor agency, the creditor agency must certify, in writing, to the Department that the employee owes the debt, the amount and basis of the debt, the date on which payment(s) is due, the date the Government's right to collect the debt first accrued, and that the creditor agency's regulations implementing 5 U.S.C. 5514 have been approved by the Office of Personnel Management.

(2) If the collection is to be made in installments, the creditor agency must also advise the Department of the number of installments to be collected, the amount or percentage of disposable pay to be collected in each installment, and the commencement date of the installments, if a date other than the next officially established pay period is required.

(3) Unless the employee has consented in writing to the salary deductions or signed a statement acknowledging receipt of the required procedures and the written consent or statement is forwarded to the Department, the creditor agency must advise the Department of the action(s) taken under 5 U.S.C. §5514, and give the date(s) the action(s) was taken.

(b) Requests for recovery.

(1) Complete claim. When the Department receives a properly certified debt claim from a creditor agency, deductions should be scheduled to begin prospectively at the next officially established pay interval. The employee must receive written notice as described in §33.10 that the Department has received a certified debt claim from the creditor agency, including the amount, and written notice of the date deductions from salary will commence and the amount of such deductions.

(2) Incomplete claim. When the Department receives an incomplete debt claim from a creditor agency, the Secretary shall return the debt claim with a notice that procedures under 5 U.S.C. 5514 and 5 CFR part 550, subpart K, must be provided and a properly certified debt claim received before action will be taken to collect from the employee's current pay account.

(c) Review. The Secretary is not required or authorized to review the merits of the determination with respect to the amount or validity of the debt certified by the creditor agency.

(d) Employees separating. If an employee begins separation action before the Department collects the total debt due the creditor agency, the following actions will be taken:

(1) To the extent possible, the balance owed the creditor agency will be liquidated from a final salary check, or other final payments of any nature due the employee from the Department;

(2) The Secretary will certify the total amount of the Department's collection on the debt and send a copy of the certification to the employee and another copy to the creditor agency; and

(3) If the Department's collection does not fully satisfy the debt, and the Secretary is aware that the employee is entitled to payments from the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, or other similar payments that may be due the employee from other Federal Government sources, the Secretary will provide written notification of the outstanding debt to the agency responsible for making such payments to the employee. The written notification shall state that the employee owes a debt, the amount of the debt, and that the provisions of this section have been fully complied with. The Department shall furnish a copy of this written notification to the creditor agency so that it can file a properly certified debt claim with the agency responsible for making such payments.

(e) Employees who transfer to another paying agency. If, after the creditor agency has submitted a debt claim to the Department, the employee transfers from the Department to a different paying agency before the debt is collected in full, the Secretary shall:

(1) Certify the total amount of the collection made on the debt; and

(2) Furnish a copy of the certification to the employee and another copy to the creditor agency along with notice of the employee's transfer.