SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory Process for Implementing Annual Inflation Adjustments

In accordance with the requirements of section 4 of the Federal Civil Monetary Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Public Law 101-410 (the “Inflation Adjustment Act”), as amended, (28 U.S.C. 2461 note) Justice is required periodically to adjust for inflation the civil monetary penalties assessed or enforced by the Department by publishing a rule in the Federal Register .

Section 701 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Public Law 114-74 (Nov. 2, 2015) (“BBA”), substantially revised the prior provisions of the Inflation Adjustment Act and substituted a different statutory formula for calculating inflation adjustments on an annual basis. The BBA further requires agencies to adjust their civil penalties on January 15 of each year thereafter to account for inflation during the preceding year.

Pursuant to the Inflation Adjustment Act, as amended, the Department has promulgated a series of rules adjusting the civil money penalties for inflation. Readers may refer to the Supplementary Information (also known as the preamble) of the Department's prior inflation adjustment rules for additional background information regarding the statutory authority for adjustments of civil monetary penalty amounts to take account of inflation and the Department's past implementation of inflation adjustments.

Most recently, the Department published its 2025 final rule on July 3, 2025 (90 FR 29445), to adjust the civil money penalties to account for inflation occurring since 2024.

II. No Adjustments for 2026

According to Section 701 of the BBA, the annual inflation adjustment to civil penalties is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) CPI-U data from the month of October of the prior year. Due to the October-November 2025 lapse in appropriations, BLS was unable to produce the October 2025 data. The statute does not allow for an alternative method of calculating civil penalty amounts. On April 17, 2026, OMB Director Russell T. Vought issued OMB memorandum M-26-11,^[1] which informed agencies of the cancellation of the penalty inflation adjustment for 2026 based on the lack of October 2025 CPI-U data. OMB instructed agencies to continue using the 2025 civil monetary penalties as applicable.

Consistent with the guidance provided in M-26-11, the Department of Justice is not making any adjustments ( printed page 43406) to civil money penalties under the Inflation Adjustment Act in 2026.

In 2027, the Department will undertake a thorough review of the civil penalties assessed or enforced by its components pursuant to the Inflation Adjustment Act and in accordance with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

91 FR 43405