Subchapter VIII. Civil Liability
50 U.S.C. § 4041: How the Justice Department Enforces the SCRA
Official heading: Enforcement by the Attorney General
In one line
Authorizes the Attorney General to sue anyone engaged in a pattern or practice of SCRA violations, or a violation of significant public importance, and to win damages for servicemembers plus civil penalties. This is the section behind the DOJ enforcement ledger.
- Statutory civil penalty: up to $55,000 for a first violation and $110,000 for each later one; DOJ’s inflation-adjusted figures at 28 CFR 85.5 are $79,380 and $158,761 for penalties assessed after July 3, 2025
- The court may award monetary damages to any person aggrieved by the violation
- An aggrieved person may intervene and recover what a private suit under § 4042 would allow, plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee
Text checked October 9, 2026
What § 4041 does to your money
Section 4041 is the authority behind every Justice Department SCRA settlement on this site. The Attorney General may sue in federal district court anyone who engages in a pattern or practice of violating the Act, or in a single violation that raises an issue of significant public importance.
The court can order equitable and declaratory relief, award monetary damages to every servicemember harmed, and assess a civil penalty. The statute prints $55,000 for a first violation and $110,000 for each later one; the Justice Department’s inflation-adjusted amounts in 28 CFR 85.5 are $79,380 and $158,761 for penalties assessed after July 3, 2025.
If the government sues over a violation that harmed you, you can intervene in that case and get the relief you could get in your own suit under § 4042, plus costs and a reasonable attorney fee. Military legal assistance offices are the usual route for referring a violation to the Justice Department; bring your orders and the paperwork that shows what the company did. The Justice Department’s own tally, in its April 14, 2026 announcement of the ADT settlement, is over $488 million for 152,000 servicemembers since 2011.
Guides on this site that apply § 4041
- Military Affidavit: What It Is, When Courts Require It, How to Get One
Before any default judgment, 50 U.S.C. § 3931 makes the plaintiff swear to the defendant's military status. The rule, the DMDC check, and 14 state forms.
- SCRA Compliance for Lenders & Servicers: The Audit-Ready Checklist
The creditor-side rules of the SCRA: § 3937 rate cap mechanics, DMDC verification, court-order gates, HUD-92070, the $79,380 penalty, and what DOJ fined for.
- SCRA Interest Rate Cap: The 6% Rule, How It Works, How to File
The SCRA 6% rule (50 U.S.C. § 3937): pre-service debt capped at 6%, excess forgiven, retroactive, mortgages one year after service. Who goes lower, how to file.
- The Biggest SCRA Settlements: Proof the Law Has Teeth
Santander $9.35M, CarMax $420K, Westlake $760K, and $484M for 149,000 troops since 2011. Proof the SCRA is enforced, with DOJ sources.
- The Most Common SCRA Violations, Ranked by What DOJ Made Companies Pay
64 DOJ SCRA actions by violation type: foreclosures, rate cap failures, repossessions, lease fees, towing auctions, default judgments, and how to report one.
- What Is the SCRA? The Military Law Worth Thousands a Year
The SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) caps pre-service debt at 6%, ends leases on orders, and blocks foreclosure without a court order. How it works.
- Your Lender Broke the SCRA. Here Is How to Make Them Pay
A lender ignored the SCRA? 50 U.S.C. § 4042 lets you sue for your losses and make them pay your attorney. Plus how to complain to the DOJ and CFPB.
The full text of 50 U.S.C. § 4041
From the United States Code, 2024 Edition, current through January 6, 2025, as published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office on GovInfo (retrieved October 10, 2026). No amendment enacted after the edition cutoff was found on Cornell LII or in GovInfo’s compiled SCRA (amended through Pub. L. 118-159, Dec. 23, 2024). House style: the Code’s em dashes before a list are shown as colons, and en dashes as hyphens or “to”; no word of the text is changed.
(a) Civil action
The Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States against any person who:
(1) engages in a pattern or practice of violating this chapter; or
(2) engages in a violation of this chapter that raises an issue of significant public importance.
(b) Relief
In a civil action commenced under subsection (a), the court may:
(1) grant any appropriate equitable or declaratory relief with respect to the violation of this chapter;
(2) award all other appropriate relief, including monetary damages, to any person aggrieved by the violation; and
(3) may, to vindicate the public interest, assess a civil penalty:
(A) in an amount not exceeding $55,000 for a first violation; and
(B) in an amount not exceeding $110,000 for any subsequent violation.
(c) Intervention
Upon timely application, a person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter with respect to which the civil action is commenced may intervene in such action, and may obtain such appropriate relief as the person could obtain in a civil action under section 4042 of this title with respect to that violation, along with costs and a reasonable attorney fee.
Enacted and amended by: (Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, title VIII, §801, as added Pub. L. 111-275, title III, §303(a), Oct. 13, 2010, 124 Stat. 2877.)
Every section of the Act, including the short administrative ones without their own page, is on the section-by-section index.
Heads up: SCRA Saver publishes general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs. Confirm details with your installation legal assistance office (free for service members) or a licensed professional.