[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR30.22]

[Page 51-52]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
PART 30--DEBT COLLECTION--Table of Contents
 
       Subpart C--What Provisions Apply to Administrative Offset?
 
Sec. 30.22  What notice does the debtor receive before the commencement of 
offset?

    (a)(1) Except as provided in Secs. 30.28 and 30.29, the Secretary 
provides a debtor with written notice of the Secretary's intent to 
offset before initiating the offset.
    (2) The Secretary mails the notice to the debtor at the current 
address of the debtor, as determined by the Secretary from information 
regarding the debt maintained by the Department.
    (b) The written notice informs the debtor regarding:
    (1) The nature and amount of the debt;
    (2) The Secretary's intent to collect the debt by offset;
    (3) The debtor's opportunity to:
    (i) Inspect and copy Department records pertaining to the debt;
    (ii) Obtain a review within the Department of the existence or 
amount of the debt; and
    (iii) Enter into a written agreement with the Secretary to repay the 
debt;

[[Page 52]]

    (4) The date by which the debtor must request an opportunity set 
forth under paragraph (b)(3) of this section; and
    (5) The Secretary's decision, in appropriate cases, to switch the 
debtor from advance funding to a reimbursement payment system.
    (c)(1) In determining whether a debtor has requested an opportunity 
set forth under paragraph (b)(3) of this section in a timely manner, the 
Secretary relies on:
    (i) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark for the debtor's 
request; or
    (ii) A legibly stamped U.S. Postal service mail receipt for debtor's 
request.
    (2) The Secretary does not rely on either of the following as proof 
of mailing;
    (i) A private metered postmark.
    (ii) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method for proof of mailing, a debtor 
should check with its local post office.
    (d) If a debtor previously has been notified of the Secretary's 
intent to offset or offered an opportunity to take any of the actions 
set forth in paragraph (b)(3) of this section in connection with the 
same debt, the Secretary may offset without providing the debtor with an 
additional notice of intent or opportunity to take any of those actions 
under these offset procedures.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3(a)(1) and 1226a-1, 31 U.S.C. 3716(b))