42 U.S.C. § 407
Section 407 · Assignment of benefits
This is § 207 of the Social Security Act of 1935
Amended 4 times on record
Applied in 775 court decisions — leading case Ali v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (2008)
Most recently applied in State v. C. Post (September 2025)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 11 U.S.C. § 522 · 42 U.S.C. § 1383 · 42 U.S.C. § 659
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment and consequential amendments — watch for a citation surge after a change. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The right of any person to any future payment under this subchapter shall not be transferable or assignable, at law or in equity, and none of the moneys paid or payable or rights existing under this subchapter shall be subject to execution, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other legal process, or to the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency law.
No other provision of law, enacted before, on, or after April 20, 1983, may be construed to limit, supersede, or otherwise modify the provisions of this section except to the extent that it does so by express reference to this section.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit withholding taxes from any benefit under this subchapter, if such withholding is done pursuant to a request made in accordance with section 3402(p)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the person entitled to such benefit or such person's representative payee.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, referred to in subsec. (c), is classified generally to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.
Codification
In subsec. (b), “April 20, 1983” substituted for “the date of the enactment of this section”, which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of this subsection, as the probable intent of Congress.
Amendments
1998—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 105–277 added subsec. (c).
1983—Pub. L. 98–21 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
1939—Act Aug. 10, 1939, amended section generally, incorporating provisions of former section 408 of this title.
Effective Date of 1983 Amendment
Section 335(c) of Pub. L. 98–21 provided that: “The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply only with respect to benefits payable or rights existing under the Social Security Act [this chapter] on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 20, 1983].”
Effective Date of 1939 Amendment
Section 201 of act Aug. 10, 1939, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective Jan. 1, 1940.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
One form of action, see rule 2, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Seizure of person or property, see rule 64.
Cross References
Assignment of claims void, see section 3727 of Title 31, Money and Finance.
Enforcement of legal obligations to provide child support and make alimony payments, see section 659 of this title.