Agencies may, with the approval of the Office of Government Ethics, establish supplemental rules to
cover matters unique to the agency.
3. Gifts from Outside Sources (Synopsis of Subpart B)
BASIC PROHIBITION. An employee shall not solicit or accept a gift given because of his official
position or from a prohibited source. A prohibited source is defined as any person, including any
organization more than half of whose members are persons:
Seeking official action by his agency;
Doing or seeking to do business with his agency;
Regulated by his agency; or
Substantially affected by the performance of his duties.
DEFINITION OF A GIFT. The term "gift" includes almost anything of monetary value. However, some
of the things it does not include are:
Coffee, donuts and similar modest items of food and refreshments when offered other than as part
of a meal;
Greeting cards and most plaques, certificates and trophies;
Prizes in contests open to the public;
Commercial discounts available to the general public or to all Government or military personnel;
Commercial loans, and pensions and similar benefits;
EXCEPTIONS. Subject to the limitations noted below, there are exceptions which will permit an
employee to accept an otherwise prohibited gift. Some of these cover:
Unsolicited gifts with a market value of or less per occasion, aggregating no more than in a
calendar year from any one source (this exception does not permit gifts of cash or investment interest);
Gifts when clearly motivated by a family relationship or personal friendship;
Commercial discounts and similar benefits offered to groups in which membership is not related to
Government employment or, if membership is related to Government employment, where the same
offer is broadly available to the public through similar groups, and certain benefits offered by
professional associations or by persons who are not prohibited sources.
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MP1022
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