Title 18 of the United States Code

Part I—Crimes

Chapters 1–10

: General Provisions

• , previously classifying offenses as felonies and misdemeanors, was repealed per Public Law 98-473, title II, Section 218, 98 Stat. 2027, as of October 12, 1984, effective November 1, 1987.
• , last amended in 1951, defines principal offenders.
• , last amended in 1994, defines and provides punishment for "accessories after the fact".
• , last amended in 1994, defines and provides punishment for "misprision of felony".
• , having not been amended since 1948, defines "United States".
• , having not been amended since 1948, defines "department" and "agency".
• , last amended in 2001, defines "special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States".
• , having not been amended since 1948, defines "obligation or other security of the United States".
• , having not been amended since 1948, defines "vessel of the United States".
• , having not been amended since 1948, defines "interstate commerce" and "foreign commerce".
• , last amended in 1976 by, defines "foreign government".
• , last amended in 1990, defines "United States Postal Service".
• , last amended in 1996, deals with laws of states adopted for areas within federal jurisdiction.
• has been repealed per Public Law 107-273, division B, title IV, section 4004, as of November 2, 2002. 116 Stat. 1812.
• , added in 1958 by, defines "obligation or other security of foreign government" as uncanceled stamps, whether or not they are demonetized.
• , added in 1984, defines "crime of violence", where subsection, the so-called 'residual' clause, was ruled unconstitutional in Sessions v. Dimaya.
• , added in 1984 and last amended in 1986 by, deals with the insanity defense, defining it as "an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts", that "mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense", and that "the defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence".
• , added in 1986 by and last amended in 1988, defines "organization" as a person other than an individual.
• , added in 1987 by and last amended in 1988, defines "petty offense" as "a Class B misdemeanor, a Class C misdemeanor, or an infraction, for which the maximum fine is no greater than the amount set forth for such an offense in section 3571 or in the case of an individual or section 3571 or in the case of an organization."
• , added in 1984 and last amended in 2009, defines "financial institution".
• , added in 1994, defines "stolen or counterfeit nature of property for certain crimes".
• As of, there is no section 22.
• , added in 1994, defines "court of the United States".
• , added in 1996 and last amended in 2010, provides "definitions relating to Federal health care offense".
• , added in 2003, deals with the "use of minors in crimes of violence".
• , added in 2006 by, defines seaports.
• , added in 2009, defines "mortgage lending business."

  : Aircraft and Motor Vehicles

• , last amended in 2000, contains definitions.
• , last amended in 2006, creates the "crime of destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities".
• , last amended in 2006, prohibits "destruction of motor vehicles or motor vehicle facilities".
• , last amended in 1994, provides the "penalty when death results".
• , last amended in 1994, prohibits "imparting or conveying false information".
• , last amended in 1996, deals with drive-by shooting.
• , last amended in 1996, prohibits "violence at international airports".
• , added in 2000, deals with "fraud involving aircraft or space vehicle parts in interstate or foreign commerce".
• , added in 2005, prohibits unauthorized traffic signal preemption transmitters.
• , added in 2012, prohibits aiming a laser pointer at or in the flight path of an aircraft.
• , added in 2018, prohibits flying a drone in an unsafe manner around an aircraft.
• , last amended in 2008, requires commercial vehicles to stop for inspections.
• , added in 2018, prohibits operating an unmanned aircraft and knowingly or recklessly interfering with a wildfire suppression, or law enforcement or emergency response efforts related to a wildfire suppression, provides for penalties and definitions, and exempts certain operating purposes of unmanned aircraft.

  : Animals, Birds, Fish, and Plants

• prohibits hunting, fishing, trapping, or disturbance or injury to birds, fish, or wildlife in any protected areas of the United States, and provides a penalty of a fine under this title or imprisonment up to six months, or both.
• , last amended in 2018, is titled "importation or shipment of injurious mammals, birds, fish, amphibia, and reptiles; permits, specimens for museums; regulations". It prohibits the import of harmful or invasive species, including Urva auropunctata, bats of the genus Pteropus, the zebra mussel, and the brown tree snake, and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to bar other harmful species. The section also provides exemptions.
• is titled "Force, violence, and threats involving animal enterprises" and prohibits intentional disruption or harm to "animal enterprises" through interstate or foreign commerce, and provides various penalties.
• has been repealed per Public Law 97-79, Section 9, as of November 16, 1981. 95 Stat. 1079.
• has been repealed per Public Law 101-647, title XII, Section 1206, as of November 29, 1990. 104 Stat. 4832.
• has been repealed per Public Law 116–260, div. O, title X, § 1002, as of December 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2155.
• prohibits the use of an aircraft or motor vehicle to hunt any "wild unbranded horse, mare, colt, or burro running at large on any of the public land or ranges" and prohibits the pollution of any watering hole on any of the public land or ranges for the purpose of hunting any of the named animals, and provides for a penalty of a fine under this title, or imprisonment up to six months, or both, for each offense.
• , lasted amended in 2019, prohibits animal crushing, the creation of animal crush videos, and the distribution of animal crush videos. It has extraterritorial reach and comes with a penalty of a fine, up to 7 years in prison, or both.
• provides for penalties regarding animal fighting ventures and increased penalties for allowing minors to see animal fighting ventures.

  : Arson

• , defining "arson", "attempted arson", or "conspiracy to commit arson", and providing a penalty of imprisonment for up to 25 years, the greater of the fine under this title or the cost of repairing or replacing any property that is damaged or destroyed, or both. It also provides that if the building is a dwelling or if the life of any person is placed in jeopardy, the penalty shall be a fine under this title, imprisonment for "any term of years or for life", or both.

  : Assault

• prohibits "assaulting, resisting, or impeding" officers, employees and Law Enforcement Explorers of the United States while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties, and the assault or intimidation of "any person who formerly served" as an officers or employees of the United States "on account of the performance of official duties during such person's term of service". The section provides for a penalty for simple assault of a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both, and a penalty in all other cases of a fine, imprisonment for up to eight years, or both. An enhanced penalty of a fine or imprisonment for up to 20 years is provided for if a "deadly or dangerous weapon" is used or if bodily injury is inflicted.
• is "protection of foreign officials, official guests, and internationally protected persons". It prohibits assaulting or causing harm to a "foreign official, official guest, or internationally protected person" or "any other violent attack upon the person or liberty of such person", and provides a penalty of a fine, imprisonment of up to three years, or both, and an enhanced penalty of a fine or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both, if a deadly or dangerous weapon" is used or if bodily injury is inflicted.
• also prohibits "ntimidating, coercing, threatening, or harassing a foreign official or an official guest, or obstructing a foreign official in the performance of his duties", or an attempt to do so, and additionally prohibits two or more people congregating within 100 feet of any building being used "for diplomatic, consular, or residential purposes" by foreign officials or international organization, "with intent to violate any other provision of this section", and provides for a fine, imprisonment up to six months, or both. The section also provides that "Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or applied so as to abridge the exercise of rights" guaranteed under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• provides punishments for assault within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States: for assault with intent to commit murder, imprisonment for not more than 20 years; for assault with intent to commit any felony except murder or a felony under chapter 109A, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both; for assault with a dangerous weapon, with intent to do bodily harm, and without just cause or excuse, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both; for assault by striking, beating, or wounding, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both; simple assault, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, or if the victim of the assault is an individual who has not attained the age of 16 years, by fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both; assault resulting in serious bodily injury, by a fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both; assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to an individual who has not attained the age of 16 years, by fine under this title or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.
• * also defines "substantial bodily injury" as bodily injury involving a temporary but substantial disfigurement, or a temporary but substantial loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, and defines "serious bodily injury" as the meaning given that term in section 1365 of this title.
• , makes it a crime within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States to, with intent to torture, and provides that whoever shall "maim, disfigure, cuts, bites, or slits the nose, ear, or lip, or cuts out or disables the tongue, or puts out or destroys an eye, or cuts off or disables a limb or any member of another person; or whoever, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, and with like intent, throws or pours upon another person, any scalding water, corrosive acid, or caustic substance shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both."
• : Influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official by threatening or injuring a family member
• : Female genital mutilation to minors
• : Domestic assault by an habitual offender
• Assault on a federal process server is treated under Chapter 73 of Title 18, Section 1501.
• : Section 118, added in 2007, prohibits the knowing and willful obstruction, resistance to, or interference with a Federal law enforcement agent engaged, within the United States or the special maritime territorial jurisdiction of the United States, in the performance of the protective functions authorized under section 37 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 or section 103 of the Diplomatic Security Act, and for a penalty of a fine under the title or a period of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year, or both.
• : Section 119, added in 2008, prohibits knowingly making restricted personal information about a covered person, or a member of the immediate family of that covered person, publicly available with the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that covered person, or a member of the immediate family of that covered person or with the intent and knowledge that the restricted personal information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against that covered person, or a member of the immediate family of that covered person, for a fine under the title or five years of imprisonment, and for definitions of a restricted person.