1. (a) The TSP record keeper will only honor the terms of a legal process that is qualifying under paragraph (b) of this section.

2. (b) A legal process must meet each of the following requirements to be considered qualifying:

   1. (1) A competent authority must have issued the legal process;
   2. (2) The legal process must expressly relate to the Thrift Savings Plan account of a TSP participant, as described in § 1653.2(a)(1);

   3. (3) The legal process must require the TSP to:

      1. (i) Pay a stated dollar amount from a participant's TSP account; or
      2. (ii) Freeze the participant's account in anticipation of an order to pay from the account.

3. (c) The following legal processes are not qualifying:

   1. (1) A legal process relating to a TSP account that has been closed;
   2. (2) A legal process relating to a TSP account that contains only nonvested money;
   3. (3) A legal process requiring the return to the TSP of money that was properly paid pursuant to an earlier legal process;
   4. (4) A legal process requiring the TSP to make a payment in the future; and
   5. (5) A legal process requiring a series of payments.
   6. (6) A legal process that designates the specific TSP core fund, source of contributions, or balance from which the payment or portions of the payment shall be made.

[68 FR 35510, June 13, 2003, as amended at 77 FR 26429, May 4, 2012; 87 FR 31690, May 24, 2022]