MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATIES
OF THE UNITED STATES
(April 2022)
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
CRIMINAL DIVISION
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TREATIES
OF THE UNITED STATES
(MLATs)
(April 2022)
Office of International Affairs
Criminal Division
United States Department of Justice
Treaties on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (MLATs) enable
law enforcement authorities and prosecutors to obtain evidence, information, and
testimony abroad in a form admissible in the courts of the Requesting State. As a
general matter, MLATs require the Requested State to provide the Requesting
State with certain kinds of assistance or evidence such as documents, records, and
testimony, provided the requirements of the treaty are satisfied. The process is
streamlined through the establishment of a “Central Authority” within each
country to make, receive, and facilitate the execution of requests for evidence
intended for use in criminal investigations, prosecutions, and related proceedings.
The MLATs to which the United States is a party designate the U.S. Attorney
General as the Central Authority of the United States. The Attorney General has
delegated this authority, by federal regulation, to the Office of International Affairs
in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, which functions as the
Central Authority for the United States. The bilateral MLATs to which the United
States is a party are listed on the following pages. That list is followed by a list of
multilateral conventions to which the United States is a party that also provide for
mutual legal assistance in matters within the scope of the specific conventions.
COUNTRY
ENTRY IN FORCE
ALGERIA
April 20, 2017
ANGUILLA
November 9, 1990
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
July 1, 1999
ARGENTINA
February 9, 1993
AUSTRALIA
September 30, 1999
AUSTRIA
AUSTRIA – US/EU PROTOCOL
August 1, 1998
February 1, 2010
BAHAMAS
July 18, 1990
BARBADOS
March 3, 2000
BELGIUM
BELGIUM – US/EU INSTRUMENT
January 1, 2000
February 1, 2010
BELIZE
July 2, 2003
BERMUDA
April 12, 2012
BRAZIL
February 21, 2001
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
November 9, 1990
BULGARIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY*
February 1, 2010
CANADA
January 24, 1990
CAYMAN ISLANDS
March 19, 1990
CROATIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY*
Pending
CHINA+
March 8, 2001
CYPRUS
CYPRUS – US/EU INSTRUMENT
September 18, 2002
February 1, 2010
COUNTRY
ENTRY IN FORCE
CZECH REPUBLIC
CZECH REPUBLIC – US/EU INSTRUMENT
May 7, 2000
February 1, 2010
DENMARK – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
DOMINICA
May 25, 2000
EGYPT
November 29, 2001
ESTONIA
ESTONIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT
October 20, 2000
February 1, 2010
FINLAND – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
FRANCE
FRANCE – US/EU INSTRUMENT
December 1, 2001
February 1, 2010
GERMANY
GERMANY – US/EU INSTRUMENT
October 18, 2009
February 1, 2010
GREECE
GREECE – US/EU INSTRUMENT
November 20, 2001
February 1, 2010
GRENADA
September 14, 1999
HONG KONG SAR
January 21, 2000 (Suspended)
HUNGARY
HUNGARY – US/EU INSTRUMENT
March 18, 1997
February 1, 2010
INDIA
October 3, 2005
IRELAND
IRELAND – US/EU INSTRUMENT
August 11, 2009
February 1, 2010
ISRAEL
May 25, 1999
COUNTRY
ENTRY IN FORCE
ITALY
ITALY – US/EU INSTRUMENT
November 13, 1985
February 1, 2010
JAMAICA
July 25, 1995
JAPAN
July 21, 2006
JORDAN
Pending
KAZAKHSTAN
December 6, 2016
LATVIA
LATVIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT
September 17, 1999
February 1, 2010
LIECHTENSTEIN
August 1, 2003
LITHUANIA
LITHUANIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT
August 26, 1999
February 1, 2010
LUXEMBOURG
LUXEMBOURG – US/EU INSTRUMENT
February 1, 2001
February 1, 2010
MALAYSIA
January 21, 2009
MALTA – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
MEXICO
May 3, 1991
MONTSERRAT
March 19, 1990
MOROCCO
June 23, 1993
THE NETHERLANDS
THE NETHERLANDS – US/EU INSTRUMENT
September 15, 1983
February 1, 2010
NIGERIA
January 14, 2003
PANAMA
September 6, 1995
PHILIPPINES
November 22, 1996
COUNTRY
ENTRY IN FORCE
POLAND
POLAND – US/EU INSTRUMENT
September 17, 1999
February 1, 2010
PORTUGAL – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
May 23, 1997
ROMANIA
ROMANIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT
October 17, 2001
February 1, 2010
RUSSIA
January 31, 2002
SINGAPORE (DRUG CRIMES ONLY) +
February 12, 2001
SLOVAKIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
SLOVENIA – US/EU INSTRUMENT ONLY *
February 1, 2010
SOUTH AFRICA
June 25, 2001
SPAIN
SPAIN – US/EU INSTRUMENT
June 30, 1993
February 1, 2010
ST. CHRISTOPHER & NEVIS
February 23, 2000
ST. LUCIA
February 2, 2000
ST. VINCENT & THE GRENADINES
September 8, 1999
SWEDEN
SWEDEN – US/EU INSTRUMENT
June 1, 2009
February 1, 2010
SWITZERLAND
January 23, 1977
TAIWAN +
March 26, 2002
THAILAND
June 10, 1993
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
November 29, 1999
TURKEY
January 1, 1981
COUNTRY
ENTRY IN FORCE
TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS
November 9, 1990
UKRAINE
February 27, 2001
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED KINGDOM – US/EU INSTRUMENT
December 2, 1996
February 1, 2010
URUGUAY
April 15, 1994
VENEZUELA
March 1, 2004
Notes:
The Treaty with the Kingdom of the Netherlands also applies to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba,
St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. The US/EU Instrument does not apply to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao,
Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten.
The Treaty with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also applies to the
Isle of Man. The US/EU Instrument does not apply to the Isle of Man.
* Denotes Instruments that are partial MLATs reflecting obligations based on the Mutual Legal
Assistance Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union.
+ Denotes an executive agreement (rather than a treaty) that creates internationally binding
obligations.
See the following page for a list of the multilateral conventions that provide for mutual
legal assistance to which the United States is a party.
PRINCIPAL MULTILATERAL CONVENTIONS PROVIDING FOR
MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO WHICH THE UNITED STATES IS A
PARTY
The following is a list of the most frequently invoked multilateral conventions
providing for mutual legal assistance to which the United States is party.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (the Budapest Convention),
entered in force for the United States on January 1, 2007.
Organization of America States
The Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (the
OAS MLAT) entered in force for the United States on June 24, 2001.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
The Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
Business Transactions, entered in force for the United States on February 15, 1999.
United Nations
The Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) entered in force for the United
States on November 29, 2006.
The Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (the 1988 Vienna Convention) entered in force for the United States on
November 11, 1990.
The Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) entered in
force for the United States on December 3, 2005.
The International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism
entered in force for the United States on July 26, 2002.
