United States Code

The U.S. Code is a compilation of permanent federal statutes, organized into various titles. GPS is addressed in two of those titles: Title 10 (Armed Forces) and Title 51 (National and Commercial Space Programs). The Nationwide Differential GPS augmentation system is addressed in Title 49 (Transportation).

This page summarizes the GPS provisions in the U.S. Code and cites the acts of Congress on which they are based. Some links on this page lead to content in the Portable Document Format (PDF) and may require you to install PDF software. Get software

10 U.S.C. § 2281: Global Positioning System

Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 2281, assigns the Secretary of Defense statutory authority to sustain and operate GPS for military and civil purposes.

The statute directs the Secretary of Defense to provide civil GPS service on a continuous, worldwide basis, free of direct user fees.

It directs the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with the Secretary of Transportation on GPS requirements and GPS augmentation systems, and to coordinate with the Secretary of Commerce and others to facilitate civil and commercial GPS uses.

The statute directs the Secretary of Defense to develop measures for preventing hostile use of GPS in a particular area without hindering peaceful civil use of the system elsewhere.

It requires the Federal Radionavigation Plan to be published every two years. View plan

10 U.S.C. § 2281 was created by Section 1074 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 1998. View PDF

The statute also incorporates the following legislation:

• Section 1607 of the NDAA for FY 2020, regarding a prototype program for multi-GNSS receiver development. Learn more
• Section 1609 of the John S. McCain NDAA for FY 2019, as amended by Section 1607 of the NDAA for FY 2020, regarding enhancement of PNT capacity. Learn more
• Section 1610 of the John S. McCain NDAA for FY 2019, as amended by Section 1602 of the NDAA for FY 2020, regarding M-Code receivers. Learn more
• Section 1621 of the NDAA for FY 2016, which requires quarterly reports on the GPS III space segment, GPS operational control segment, and military GPS user equipment acquisition programs. View at congress.gov
• Section 913 of the Ike Skelton NDAA for FY 2011, which requires all military GPS user equipment purchased after FY 2017 to be M Code capable, except in the case of cars or where waived by the Secretary of Defense. View PDF
• Section 911 of the John Warner NDAA for FY 2007, which authorizes multi-agency funding of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Executive Committee and related organizations. View PDF
• Section 218 of the Strom Thurmond NDAA for FY 1999, which requires the development of an enhanced GPS (i.e., modernization). View PDF
• Section 279 of the NDAA for FY 1996, which requires a development plan for navigation warfare. View PDF
• Section 152 of the NDAA for FY 1994 and Section 260 of the NDAA for FY 2006, which require all military aircraft, ships, armored vehicles, and indirect-fire weapon systems bought after September 2007 to be GPS-equipped. View PDF

The statute previously required biennial reports to Congress on GPS (View reports). Congress repealed the reporting requirement in 2013 (view source), three years after reassigning it from the Secretary of Defense to the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (view source).

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10 U.S.C. § 2279b: Council on Oversight of the DOD PNT Enterprise

Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 2279b, establishes the Council on Oversight of the Department of Defense Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Enterprise.

The Council is responsible for oversight of the DOD PNT enterprise, including PNT services provided to civil, commercial, scientific, and international users.

10 U.S.C. § 2279b was created by Section 1603 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. Learn More

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10 U.S.C. § 2279d: Limitation on Construction on U.S. Territory of Satellite Positioning Ground Monitoring Stations of Certain Foreign Governments

Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 2279d, limits the construction of GNSS monitoring stations controlled by certain foreign governments within U.S. territory.

10 U.S.C. § 2279d was created by Section 1602 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (originally as § 2279c). Learn more

The statute incorporates Section 1602(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, which was originally codified as a note to 10 U.S.C. § 2281. View source

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51 U.S.C. § 50112: Promotion of U.S. GPS Standards

Title 51 of the U.S. Code, Section 50112, encourages the continuous, worldwide operation of GPS free of direct user fees, international promotion of GPS as an international standard, and protection of the radio spectrum used by GPS.

51 U.S.C. § 50112 incorporates Section 104 of the Commercial Space Act of 1998. view source

This statute was originally designated 42 U.S.C. § 14712. Learn more at house.gov

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49 U.S.C. § 301: Establishment of Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System

Title 49 of the U.S. Code, Section 301, authorizes the establishment of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS).

49 U.S.C. § 301 allows the Department of Transportation to receive decommissioned Ground Wave Emergency Network (GWEN) sites from the Department of Defense and integrate them with the Coast Guard's maritime differential GPS stations. The legislation also encourages the integration of NDGPS with the Commerce Department's Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and the use of NDGPS stations for GPS-based meteorology.

49 U.S.C. § 301 incorporates Section 346 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998. view source

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