Department of State

For over a decade, laws and regulations have evolved to improve payment accuracy and strengthen public confidence in Federal programs. Agencies are required to periodically review all programs and activities to identify those susceptible to significant improper payments, conduct payment recapture audits, and use the Government-wide Do Not Pay Initiative. OMB regulations also mandate extensive reporting. The Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 (PIIA), enacted on March 2, 2020, repealed and replaced previous improper payment laws. PIIA unified and streamlined requirements to help agencies better identify and reduce improper payments. Not all improper payments are fraudulent or result in a loss to the government. An improper payment is any payment that should not have been made or was made in an incorrect amount under statutory, contractual, administrative, or other legal requirements.
The Department defines its programs and activities according to appropriations, further subdivided by operational funding worldwide. Comprehensive risk assessments of all programs are conducted every three years. In interim years, the Department assesses programs experiencing significant legislative changes or funding increases to determine continued low risk for significant improper payments, as defined by OMB thresholds.
In 2025, programs evaluated included the following: American Compensation; Foreign Locally Employed Staff Compensation; Foreign Service Annuities; Voluntary Contributions; Assessed Contributions; Post-Assignment Travel; Temporary Duty Travel; National Endowment for Democracy; Economic Support Fund; Diplomatic Policy and Support; Diplomatic and Support Programs; Diplomatic Programs, Terrorism related; Consular and Border Security Programs; Consular Information Technology and Security; Capital and Real Property Acquisitions Programs; Leaseholds and Functional Programs; Diplomatic Programs, Other Operations Programs; Overseas Programs; Worldwide Security Protection; International Security and Nonproliferation Programs; Security - Afghanistan, Pakistan; Embassy Operations; Construction; Project Construction - Major Rehabilitation; International Security Programs; Population Refugees and Migration Programs; International Cooperative Administrative Support Services; Working Capital Fund Programs; Fulbright Program; Citizen Exchange Program; Educational Programs; Aviation, Anticrime, Interdiction and Related Programs; and Peacekeeping Operations Programs.
After these assessments, the Department determined that none of its programs in 2025 were susceptible to significant improper payments above OMB threshold levels. For detailed results from the Department’s 2025 compliance with PIIA, please refer to OMB’s the Payment Accuracy website.

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Recovery information

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Overpayment amount identified for recapture
Overpayment amount recovered

Recovery of overpayments

Please note: Overpayment amounts recovered are reported in the year they were recovered, not the year they were identified. Therefore it is possible in some years to have a recovery rate greater than 100%.

Overpayment amount identified through recovery activities $32.08 M
Overpayment amount recovered through recovery activities $32.78 M
Recovery activities recovery rate 102.18 %
Overpayment amount identified through recovery audits $0.01 M
Overpayment amount recovered through recovery audits $0.01 M
Recovery audit recovery rate 106.15 %
Overpayment amount identified for recapture $32.09 M
Overpayment amount recovered $32.79 M
Overpayment recovery rate 102.18 %

Conditions giving rise to improper payments identified in recovery audits, how those conditions are being resolved, and the methods used to recover those payments

The DoS bureau CGFS incorporates preventative and recovery improper payment activities at the Department, Bureau, post, and program levels to support PIIA efforts and ensure integrity and accuracy of payments. As an integral part of our process, improper payment reviews are performed by the payment issuing offices using various manual and automated data analysis techniques to identify, validate and collect improper payments, including data mining, manual sampling of vendor payment records, and U.S. Treasury taxpayer identification number matching.

Improper payment identification and collection are essential functions of the Accounts Payable operations in the Office of Claims (CGFS/F/C) internal debt management unit. This Unit assists in identifying potential systemic issues leading to improper payments, which facilitates immediate implementation of corrective actions. During 2025, CGFS/F/C identified transactions totaling $5,858,754 actual duplicate/improper payments, of which we recovered $5,908,761 which included collecting $91,142 of the prior year unrecovered balance. Also, in 2025 the Department identified employee claims overpayments totaling $35,451 of which we recovered $28,858. Which includes $3,924 recovered from prior year identified travel overpayments.

The Office of Global Compensation (CGFS/GC) leverages an overpayment unit to review, calculate, and notify employees of salary or allowance overpayments. Salary overpayments occur for various reasons in the Department’s complex global pay environment, much is dependent on timely notification of events impacting pay. For example, late receipt of a cable notifying CGFS that an employee departed an overseas mission for official duty travel or on personal leave can result in an overpayment of allowances. The payroll systems have programmatic internal controls and system edits in place to assist in preventing overpayments. In 2025, CGFS/GC identified and confirmed payroll overpayments totaling $3.95 million, of which $4.61 million has been recovered. To date, CGFS/GC has collected 90 percent of prior year’s debts. This is notable since recovery can be delayed due to a debtor’s request for administrative review or a waiver. Efforts to collect outstanding payroll debts use the most effective means to maximize collection, such as salary offsets. In addition to salary overpayments, CGFS/GC performs procedures to identify overpayments impacting Foreign Service annuities. In 2025, $30,692 overpayment transactions were identified, $30,692 of current year and no prior year debts were recovered. These overpayments occur for reasons such as annuity reductions due to divorce, annuitant re-employment, and untimely notification of death. CGFS continues the use of the Do Not Pay Death Master File (DMF) on a pre-payment basis to better identify when annuitant deaths occur. This and other internal controls greatly assist ANP in preventing and managing improper payments.
The Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services (CGFS) has a two-tiered improper payment monitoring and review program that consists of activities performed by the payment issuing office and secondly by the Office of Management Analysis (MA). The subsequent review performed by MA focuses on overpayments and utilizes data and risk analysis to drive the recapture work performed. While many agencies hire external recapture auditors to perform a secondary review, this function is performed more efficiently within the Department by MA. Because the MA activity is secondary and consistent with a function that an external auditor would perform, MA’s activity is considered recapture as defined by PIIA.

Domestic vendor payments represent the largest category of Department-made payments subject to PIIA recapture audit requirements. MA utilizes several processes that focus on identifying potential improper and duplicate payments. Monthly, as part of the Recapture Audit process, MA conducts a query of domestic vendor payments using software to run matches of vendor invoice numbers and payment amounts against current payment data and payments from the last 5 years. The CGFS automated duplicate payment program using the domestic payment file for recapture audit analysis has proven to be a cost-effective tool.

In addition to the automated IDEA analysis, MA performs a manual quarterly review of overseas and domestic vendor payments. These manual recapture audits validate elements such as vendor, payment amount, receipt of goods or services, and ensure proper documentation exists to support sampled payments. However, in 2025, MA vendor recapture audit efforts identified a minimal amount of overpayments, and only a minimal amount was recovered and returned to the originating appropriations. MA also performs a quarterly manual recapture audit of employee claim payments subject to the Department’s overall travel program. This recapture audit focuses on known identified issue areas as well as providing overall audit coverage of employee travel payments.

During 2025, MA built on prior year recapture audit activities by targeting additional payment aspects to ensure all document types are eligible for review. In addition, MA reviewed grant payments within the universe of the domestic and overseas payment program. The additional inclusion of automated and manual recapture audit processes ensures the Department has coverage in required PIIA recapture audit areas.

Amounts recovered were returned to original purpose.
Recovery audit amount identified this reporting period that remains outstanding $0 M
Recovery audit amount rate outstanding 0.0 %
Recovery audit amount this reporting period that remains outstanding for 0-6 months $0.0 M
Recovery audit amount identified this reporting period that remains outstanding for 6 months to 1 year $0.0 M
Recovery audit amount identified in this reporting period determined not collectible during this reporting period $0.0 M
Recovery audit rate identified in this reporting period determined not collectible during this reporting period 0 %

Supplemental Information

The Department of State reviewed potential improper payments provided by the Department of the Treasury as a result of submitting disbursed payments through the Do Not Pay (DNP) portal. In 2025, the Treasury reviewed and disbursed 1,536,105 payments totaling $15 billion paid by the Department through the DNP portal. Potential matches were provided on a daily basis, comparing payments to the public Death Master File (DMF) of the Social Security Administration and the General Services Administration’s Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). Through daily access via the Treasury DNP portal, the Department reviewed 214,327 unmatchable payments, totaling $750 million, and adjudicated 56 potential erroneous payment matches as part of the post payment review process.

The Department continued to utilize the DNP portal’s DMF on a pre-payment basis for all annuitant payments. At least twice each month the Department’s annuitant database is screened against the DMF to identify deceased annuitants. All matches are researched and if confirmed, payment to the annuitant is stopped prior to processing the monthly annuity payment run. In 2025, there were 207,931 annuitant payments totaling $1.2 billion that were reviewed against the DMF and 265 payments totaling $1.3 million were stopped due to this initiative. This process is successful in identifying deceased annuitants and ensuring improper payments are not made. In addition, all annuity manual payments processed through Treasury’s Secure Payment System are reviewed through the DMF online search prior to making payment.

For non-Treasury Disbursing Office oversees payments, payee information is checked against Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN). During 2025, there were 2,538,088 payments totaling $9.2 billion of potential payment matches reviewed resulting in no stopped payments.

In addition, Department grants processed through the Health and Human Service (HHS) Payment Management System (PMS) are included in a DNP review. HHS incorporated a review of the DNP portal into their payment process to identify individuals or entities with delinquent Federal non-tax debt, a recipient that is listed as deceased on the DMF, and recipients excluded from doing business with the government. In 2025, the Department was notified of no recipient that appeared ineligible due to results of the DNP process. In addition, in 2025, one recipient payment was stopped as a result of the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). The TOP is a centralized offset program, administered by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Debt Management Services, to collect delinquent debts owed to the Federal agencies and states (including past-due child support), in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 6402(d) (collection of debts owed to Federal agencies), 31 U.S.C. 3720A (reduction of tax refund by amount of the debts), and other applicable laws.

The Working System has reduced/prevented improper payments:

STATE has not identitied incorrect information in the Working System.

STATE was found compliant during the most recent PIIA compliance review.

Show full list of compliant programs Expand

Compliant programs:

  • American Compensation
  • Assessed Contributions
  • Aviation, Anticrime, Interdiction and Related Programs
  • Capital and Real Property Acquisitions Programs
  • Citizens Exchange Program
  • Construction
  • Consular Information Technology and Security
  • Consular and Border Security Programs
  • Defense Contract Audit Agency
  • Diplomatic Programs
  • Diplomatic Programs, Diplomatic Policy and Support
  • Diplomatic Programs, Other Operations Programs
  • Diplomatic Programs, Terrorism Related
  • Diplomatic and Support Programs
  • Domestic Purchase Card Payments
  • Economic Support Fund
  • Educational Programs
  • Embassy Operations Programs
  • Fishermen's Guaranty Fund
  • Foreign Locally Employed Staff Compensation
  • Foreign Service Annuities
  • Fulbright Program
  • International Cooperative Administrative Support Services
  • International Programs to Support the Freedom of Religion or Belief
  • International Security Programs
  • International Security and Nonproliferation Related Programs
  • Leaseholds and Functional Programs
  • National Endowment for Democracy
  • Office of Inspector General - Department of State
  • Overseas Programs
  • Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism (PREACT)
  • Peace-Keeping Operations Programs
  • Population Refugees and Migration Programs
  • Post-Assignment Travel
  • Project Construction - Major Rehabilitation
  • Security - Afghanistan, Pakistan
  • Single Audits
  • Temporary Duty Travel
  • Voluntary Contributions
  • Working Capital Fund Programs
  • Worldwide Security Protection

Program name When was the last improper payment risk assessment conducted? Likely to be susceptible to significant improper payments? Substantial changes made to the assessment methodology used for the reporting cycle
American Compensation 2025 No No
Assessed Contributions 2025 No No
Aviation, Anticrime, Interdiction and Related Programs 2025 No No
Capital and Real Property Acquisitions Programs 2025 No No
Citizens Exchange Program 2025 No No
Construction 2025 No No
Consular and Border Security Programs 2025 No No
Consular Information Technology and Security 2025 No No
Defense Contract Audit Agency *
Diplomatic and Support Programs 2025 No No
Diplomatic Programs 2025 No No
Diplomatic Programs, Diplomatic Policy and Support 2025 No No
Diplomatic Programs, Other Operations Programs 2025 No No
Diplomatic Programs, Terrorism Related 2025 No No
Domestic Purchase Card Payments 2019 No No
Economic Support Fund 2025 No No
Educational Programs 2025 No No
Embassy Operations Programs 2025 No No
Fishermen's Guaranty Fund *
Foreign Locally Employed Staff Compensation 2025 No No
Foreign Service Annuities 2025 No No
Fulbright Program 2025 No No
International Cooperative Administrative Support Services 2025 No No
International Programs to Support the Freedom of Religion or Belief *
International Security and Nonproliferation Related Programs 2025 No No
International Security Programs 2025 No No
Leaseholds and Functional Programs 2025 No No
National Endowment for Democracy 2025 No No
Office of Inspector General - Department of State *
Overseas Programs 2025 No No
Partnership for Regional East Africa Counterterrorism (PREACT) *
Peace-Keeping Operations Programs 2025 No No
Population Refugees and Migration Programs 2025 No No
Post-Assignment Travel 2025 No No
Project Construction - Major Rehabilitation 2025 No No
Security - Afghanistan, Pakistan 2025 No No
Single Audits *
Temporary Duty Travel 2025 No No
Voluntary Contributions 2025 No No
Working Capital Fund Programs 2025 No No
Worldwide Security Protection 2025 No No

* Assessment year is not displayed because one or more of the following statements is true:

  1. Not required to conduct a risk assessment under the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019,
  2. Already assessed for improper payment risk under a different name in a prior reporting period, and/or
  3. New and planning to perform a risk assessment in the future.

State was found compliant in the most recent PIIA compliance review. State did not have any further recommendations.