Skip to Main Content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.



OGE Seeks Public Input on Forms related to OGE’s Legal Expense Fund Regulation

May 29, 2026


The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is submitting an existing information collection, entitled OGE Legal Expense Fund Information Collection, to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review and approval of a three-year extension in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

 

The LEF regulation requires that employees who wish to establish a legal expense fund do so through a trust with a single, named employee beneficiary and a trustee. It also requires an employee beneficiary to file quarterly reports that include information (1) regarding members of the public who make financial donations to help pay for the employee beneficiary's legal expenses (donors) and (2) members of the public who receive payments from a legal expense fund (payees). The employee beneficiary must also file a termination report upon the termination of the trust and/or executive branch employment. The trust documents, quarterly reports, and termination reports are posted directly on OGE's website.  OGE seeks input from the public on this information collection.

 

Specifically, OGE would like to know:

1. What problems do you have using the OGE Form 601?

2. Are any sections of the OGE Form 601 or its instructions unclear?

3. Is there information provided that is confusing?

4. What additional information would be helpful?

5. Is it clear from the OGE Form 601 that the filing requirement begins once a Legal Expense Fund is approved under Subpart J of 5 C.F.R. part 2635, regardless of whether a reportable contribution or distribution is made during a reporting period? 

 

You can view the currently approved information collection instruments by clicking the download links below:

  1. Executive Branch Legal Expense Fund Quarterly Report (OGE Form 601)
  2. Model Legal Expense Fund Trust Provisions
  3. Legal Expense Fund Trustee’s Guide for Information Collection Compliance (at numbered pages 15-18)

 

You can read about OGE’s proposed modifications to the Executive Branch Legal Expense Fund Quarterly Report (OGE Form 601) in its Federal Register notice and view the proposed version here. Comments may be submitted to http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain Find and comment on this particular information collection by using the “Select Agency” drop-down menu under the “Currently Under Review” section to locate “Office of Government Ethics,” click the “Submit” button, and then click the “Comment” button. Alternatively, click the "Currently under Review - Open for Public Comments" link, locate the information on the page related to OMB Control Number 3209-0012, and click the “Comment” button to the right of such information. Comments must be submitted on or before June 29, 2026.