On-Line

On-Line

A Guide to

Federal Government

ACH Payments

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

Table of content

Green Book

Introduction

Welcome to the Green Book ¡ª a comprehensive guide for financial institutions that receive

ACH payments from the federal government.

Today, most federal payments are made via the Automated Clearing House (ACH). With

very few exceptions, federal government ACH transactions continue to be subject to the

same rules as private industry ACH payments. As a result, the Green Book continues to get

smaller in size and is designed to deal primarily with exceptions or issues unique to federal

government operations.

Federal agency contact information is included, and since so much information is available

via the Internet, website addresses are included where appropriate. The Green Book

continues to be available on the Internet and chapters can be printed as Portable Display

Format (PDF) documents. We no longer print and mail hard copies. So, we encourage you

to visit the website for updates and news relevant to federal government ACH transactions.

Title 31 CFR part 210 provides the basis for most of the information contained in the Green

Book. However, there are other regulations that impact federal government ACH payments.

The following table summarizes the relevant regulations:

Regulation

31 CFR part 210

31 CFR part 208

31 CFR part 370

Governs

Federal Government Participation in the Automated Clearing House

Management of Federal Agency Disbursements

Electronic Transactions and Funds Transfers Relating to United

States Securities

We still occasionally get asked, ¡°Why green?¡± It is simple. The first publication issued in

1975 dealing with the Direct Deposit of federal government payments, when the

ACH network was in its infancy, had a green cover. More than 45 years later, the world of

federal government payments has changed, but the Green Book is still green! We hope you

incorporate the Green Book into your daily operations and visit us frequently.

Department of the Treasury

Bureau of the Fiscal Service

January 2021

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

II

Table of Contents

Green Book

Table of Contents

Chapters

Revised on

1. Enrollment

2. ACH Payment Processing

3. Non-Receipt Claims

4. Returns

5. Reclamations

6. Notification of Change

7. Contacts

8. Glossary

9. Forms

Online Book Location:

January 2023

January 2023

January 2023

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January 2023



III

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

1

Enrollment for

Federal Payments

Overview

Financial institutions can play a key role in assisting recipients of federal payments to enroll in

Direct Deposit with their paying agency. This chapter is a guide to the various enrollment methods

available for both consumer and corporate recipients.

There are several enrollment options:

1. Enroll customers in lobby, batch and submit ENR enrollments through ACH from the financial

institution.

2. Financial institution can enroll on the Go Direct? website to enter enrollments for customers.

3. Financial institution can call the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center (EPSC) at

1-800-333-1795 for immediate enrollment of customers.

4. Enrollment using Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form FS

Form 1200 for Social Security benefits or disability payments, Supplemental Security Income

payments, Railroad Retirement Board annuities, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Civil Service annuities and Direct Deposit Sign Up Form FS Form 1199A for other federal

payments, or the ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form SF 3881 for corporate

vendor payments.

Errors in the Direct Deposit enrollment process are the primary cause of misdirected payments.

Financial institutions will be held liable for providing incorrect enrollment information and should,

therefore, carefully review all Direct Deposit enrollment procedures.

In this chapter¡­

A: Automated Enrollment (ENR) ............................................................................................................... 1-4

Go Direct Online Enrollment Option for Financial Institutions ................................................................ 1-4

Social Security Administration (SSA) Payment Cycling .............................................................................. 1-4

B: Simplified Enrollment ............................................................................................................................. 1-5

Telephone Enrollment .............................................................................................................................................. 1-5

Paper Form Enrollment ........................................................................................................................................... 1-5

Enrollment Methods for Specific Payments ..................................................................................................... 1-5

A Guide to Federal Government ACH Payments

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