FAIR Act of 2026

Key Points

• The bill eliminates nonjudicial (administrative) forfeiture entirely, requiring every federal forfeiture to go through a U.S. district court. No federal agency could seize and keep property without a judge's approval.
• The government must now meet a higher "clear and convincing evidence" standard to forfeit property, replacing the old "preponderance of the evidence" standard. It must also prove the owner used the property intentionally or knowingly consented to its illegal use.
• Courts can appoint free lawyers for people who cannot afford one or whose legal costs would exceed the value of the seized property. This applies to all civil forfeiture proceedings, not just cases involving primary residences.
• Forfeited property proceeds must go to the U.S. Treasury's General Fund instead of back to the seizing agency, removing the financial incentive for agencies to prioritize seizures.
• The bill tightens deadlines: the government has just 7 days to notify property owners after a seizure and 30 days to begin court proceedings, down from 60 and 90 days respectively.
• For bank structuring cases, the government must now prove people "knowingly" broke reporting rules, and seized property must be returned within 14 days unless a court finds probable cause of a violation.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.