Effective October 1, 2005, checks presented to the Copyright Office will be converted into an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

Conversion of Checks

If you send us a check or money order in payment of Copyright Office services, it will be converted into an electronic funds transfer (EFT). This means we will copy your check and use the account information on it to electronically debit your account for the amount of the check. The debit from your account will usually occur within 24 hours of processing, and will be shown on your regular account statement.

You will not receive your original check back. We will destroy your original check, but we will keep a copy of it. If the EFT cannot be processed for technical reasons, we will reprocess a copy of your original check. If the EFT cannot be completed because of insufficient funds, your service request will not be processed.

Insufficient Funds

The electronic funds transfer from your account can occur faster than a check is normally processed. Do not present a check to the Copyright Office unless there are sufficient funds available in your checking account. If the EFT cannot be completed (for any reason), processing will be stopped. Unpublished works and documents for recordation will be returned to you. For claims in published works, the copies of your work will be forwarded to other parts of the Library of Congress, and you will have to start all over again if you still wish to register.

Authorization

By presenting your check to the Copyright Office, you authorize the conversion of your check to an electronic funds transfer. If the electronic funds transfer cannot be processed for technical reasons, you authorize us to reprocess the copy of your original check.

For those sending payments by mail, the Copyright Office�s security measures delay receipt of mail for several days. These customers will probably notice no difference in how long it takes the Copyright Office to process a check compared to other payments sent by mail.

Privacy Act

A Privacy Act Statement required by 5 U.S.C. �552a (e)(3) stating our authority for soliciting and collecting the information from your check, and explaining the purposes and routine uses that will be made of your check information, is available at Department of the Treasury. Furnishing the check information is voluntary, but a decision not to do so may require you to make payment by some other method, perhaps money order.

(Read Frequently Asked Questions on Paper Check Conversion.)