Government operations and workforce

Executive Order 13520: Reducing Improper Payments

President: Barack Obama

Required agencies to identify high-dollar improper-payment programs increase accountability and improve recovery and eligibility checks.

Status: In effect.

Is Executive Order 13520 still in effect? Yes. Active authority now operating alongside the Payment Integrity Information Act and EO 14249.

What does Executive Order 13520 do?

EO 13520 directed OMB to identify programs with the highest improper payments, required accountable officials, enhanced public reporting and promoted payment recapture. Its data-matching work helped develop the Do Not Pay system. Congress later consolidated payment-integrity statutes, and EO 14249 added 2025 fraud-prevention directions without revoking EO 13520.

Administration position: An improper payment is not necessarily fraud; it can arise from documentation, eligibility, timing or calculation errors.
SignedNovember 20, 2009
LeadOffice of Management and Budget
Core toolsAccountability reporting and payment recapture

Before and after

Before the order

Agencies reported under earlier statutes without this high-priority accountability framework.

After the order

Named officials tracked high-error programs and shared data to prevent or recover improper payments.

Who had to do what

Agency / officeActionTiming / position
OMBSet guidance and identify high-priority programsContinuing framework
AgenciesMeasure report prevent and recover improper paymentsContinuing
TreasuryOperate Do Not Pay matching servicesContinuing

What happened next

EO 13520 signed.

Payment Integrity Information Act consolidated requirements.

EO 14249 expanded payment-verification policy.