The USA PATRIOT Act is a federal law (statute) passed in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The official title of the USA PATRIOT Act is: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001.

The purpose of the USA PATRIOT Act is to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world; to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools; and other purposes, some of which include:

• To strengthen U.S. measures to prevent, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and financing of terrorism;

• To subject to special scrutiny foreign jurisdictions, foreign financial institutions, and classes of international transactions or types of accounts that are susceptible to criminal abuse;

• To require all appropriate elements of the financial services industry to report potential money laundering;

• To strengthen measures to prevent use of the U.S. financial system for personal gain by corrupt foreign officials and facilitate repatriation of stolen assets to the citizens of countries to whom such assets belong.

The vast scope of the USA PATRIOT Act can be seen in part from the titles of the sections of the statute:

• Title I—Enhancing Domestic Security Against Terrorism

• Title II—Enhanced Surveillance Procedures

• Title III—International Money Laundering Abatement and Anti-Terrorist Financing

• Title IV—Protecting the Border

• Title V—Removing Obstacles to Investigating Terrorism

• Title VI—Providing for Victims of Terrorism, Public Safety Officers, and Their Families

• Title VII—Increased Information Sharing for Critical Infrastructure Protection

• Title VIII—Strengthening the Criminal Laws Against Terrorism

• Title IX—Improved Intelligence

• Title X—Miscellaneous

The USA PATRIOT Act is a comprehensive federal statute enacted in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Its primary goal is to bolster the United States' defenses against terrorism by enhancing various law enforcement and surveillance powers. In California, as in all states, federal law, including the USA PATRIOT Act, supersedes state law where they may conflict. The Act includes provisions to prevent and punish terrorist acts both domestically and internationally, improve the tools available to law enforcement agencies to investigate terrorism, and strengthen the financial system against abuse by terrorists and money launderers. It covers a wide range of areas from domestic security, surveillance, border protection, and information sharing to the strengthening of criminal laws against terrorism. California's financial institutions and law enforcement agencies are required to comply with the USA PATRIOT Act's regulations, including reporting potential money laundering activities and applying special scrutiny to certain transactions and accounts. Attorneys in California may advise clients on compliance with the Act, as well as on the implications of the Act's surveillance and investigatory provisions on individual rights and privacy.