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Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Part I · Chapter 67 — Military and Navy

§ 1386. Keys and keyways used in security applications by the Department of Defense

Statutory text

(a)
(1)

Whoever steals, purloins, embezzles, or obtains by false pretense any lock or key to any lock, knowing that such lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(2)

Whoever—

(A)

knowingly and unlawfully makes, forges, or counterfeits any key, knowing that such key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment; or

(B)

knowing that any lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment, possesses any such lock or key with the intent to unlawfully or improperly use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such lock or key or cause the same to be unlawfully or improperly used, sold, or otherwise disposed of,

shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(3)

Whoever, being engaged as a contractor or otherwise in the manufacture of any lock or key knowing that such lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment, delivers any such finished or unfinished lock or any such key to any person not duly authorized by the Secretary of Defense or his designated representative to receive the same, unless the person receiving it is the contractor for furnishing the same or engaged in the manufacture thereof in the manner authorized by the contract, or the agent of such manufacturer, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(b)

Whoever commits an offense under subsection (a) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

(c)

As used in this section, the term “key” means any key, keyblank, or keyway adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993

    Pub. L. 102–190 div. A title X § 1090(a) · 105 Stat. 1290

    Enacted · 18 U.S.C. § 1386

    (Added Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1090(a), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1485.)

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    (Added Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1090(a), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1485.)

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    (a) In General.— Chapter 67 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section: “§ 1386. Keys and keyways used in security applications by the Department of Defense “(a) (1) Whoever steals, purloins, embezzles, or obtains by false pretense any lock or key to any lock, knowing that such lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). “(2) Whoever— “(A) knowingly and unlawfully makes, forges, or counterfeits any key, knowing that such key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment; or “(B) knowing that any lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment, possesses any such lock or key with the intent to unlawfully or improperly use, sell, or otherwise dispose of such lock or key or cause the same to be unlawfully or improperly used, sold, or otherwise disposed of, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). “(3) Whoever, being engaged as a contractor or otherwise in the manufacture of any lock or key knowing that such lock or key has been adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment, delivers any such finished or unfinished lock or any such key to any person not duly authorized by the Secretary of Defense or his designated representative to receive the same, unless the person receiving it is the contractor for furnishing the same or engaged in the manufacture thereof in the manner authorized by the contract, or the agent of such manufacturer, shall be punished as provided in subsection (b). “(b) Whoever commits an offense under subsection (a) shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both. “(c) As used in this section, the term ‘key’ means any key, keyblank, or keyway adopted by any part of the Department of Defense, including all Department of Defense agencies, military departments, and agencies thereof, for use in protecting conventional arms, ammunition or explosives, special weapons, and classified information or classified equipment.”.

1 of 1 references resolved to an enrolled provision

Credits

(Added Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title X, § 1090(a), , 105 Stat. 1485.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc18.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-05-04

USLM identifier /us/usc/t18/s1386