Frequently Asked Questions

ITVERP is an expense reimbursement program administered by the federal government. It covers specific out-of-pocket expenses that a victim of international terrorism may have incurred.

ITVERP was created by Congress as an amendment to the Victims of Crime Act of 1984. Since 2006, ITVERP has been providing financial support to victims of international terrorism. It is administered by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) at the U.S. Department of Justice.

ITVERP reimburses victims for expenses they have already incurred that are directly linked to the terrorist incident that occurred outside the United States.

Victims must meet certain eligibility requirements, apply to the program, and submit all of their supporting documentation before their application is complete and can be considered for a reimbursement award.

ITVERP is available to victims only after they have exhausted all other sources that could cover their expenses. ITVERP only reimburses individuals for specific out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the international act of terrorism.

Funding for ITVERP comes from the Crime Victims Fund. The Victims of Crime Act established this fund, which consists of fines, penalties, special assessments imposed on convicted federal defendants, and gifts and donations.

The rules and regulations that govern ITVERP can be found in the Federal Register (see Volume 71, Issue 172; September 6, 2006 and Volume 76, Issue 69; April 11, 2011).

ITVERP is authorized to reimburse eligible victims of acts of international terrorism that occur outside the United States for expenses incurred as a direct result of their victimization.

Eligible persons include:

• U.S. citizens.
• U.S. employees.
• U.S. contractors of the federal government, including foreign nationals.
• The victim must have been a U.S. citizen or foreign national working for the U.S. government at the time of the terrorist incident in order to be eligible.

When a victim is deceased, a minor, or is incompetent or incapacitated, a family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, or other person, at the discretion of the OVC Director) or legal guardian may apply for and receive reimbursement on behalf of the victim. A victim, family member, or legal guardian who applies for ITVERP reimbursement is referred to as a claimant.

To apply, you must submit a complete application.

The application is generally time-consuming and requires supporting documentation to be considered complete. Carefully review the ITVERP Application Checklist before you apply. Simply answering the questions on the application is not sufficient and such applications will be considered incomplete.

Please contact an ITVERP case manager at 1–800–363–0441 for assistance with completing your application. ITVERP case managers will answer your questions and assist you with completing all application steps.

OVC strongly encourages you to use the ITVERP online application, which contains instructions to guide you through the process. You may attach supporting document directly into the online application and track your claim’s progress throughout the lifecycle of the claim.

If you prefer to fill out a paper application, you will find all necessary application documents and instructions in the ITVERP Documents section of this website.

ITVERP covers five categories of expenses:

• Medical expenses.
• Mental health expenses.
• Property loss expenses.
• Funeral and burial expenses
• Miscellaneous expenses, such as travel or lodging.

• Those not directly related to the terrorist incident.
• Those that exceed the category caps.
• Those that fall outside the expense categories, such as legal expenses, attorneys’ fees, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, or lost wages.

Yes. For each expense category, an individual claim cannot exceed the following amounts:

If a number of family members have expenses that are eligible for reimbursement, such as travel to a funeral, those expenses must be consolidated into one claim and the family must designate a family member (or legal representative) to complete and submit the application for reimbursement on behalf of all the family members. It is the family’s responsibility to determine who the designated representative is, and if awarded reimbursement, how the award is distributed among family members.

Yes. The only exception is under the mental health care expense category. Each family member is eligible for reimbursement of her/his individual mental health care expenses up to $5,000.

Yes. If you have additional expenses or on-going expenses directly related to the terrorist incident, you may submit a supplemental claim(s).

Yes. Please call the ITVERP Resource Center toll free at 1–800–363–0441. ITVERP staff is available between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. eastern time. If they are busy helping someone else, or if you happen to call outside the hours of operation, please leave your name, phone number, a brief message, and a good time to reach you.

Copies of valid government issued identification, official documentation showing your relationship with the victim if you are the parent or spouse, copies of receipts of items lost or destroyed, insurance and service provider information as well as detail about each expense.

If you do not have the required documentation to show you incurred the expense that you are requesting reimbursement for, you must explain why you don’t have the documentation and provide an itemized, detailed description of each expense and how you determined the estimated value. ITVERP only reimburses for the cost of the item at the time of purchase—not at the time of loss. You must sign under penalty of perjury that your statements are true and correct to the best of your knowledge.

For an incident to be considered an international act of terrorism for the purposes of ITVERP, the incident must be designated as such by the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. If the incident you are looking for is not on the list, please contact ITVERP. Review the list of designated international terrorism incidents.

A collateral source is another source of payment for expenses. Because ITVERP can only provide reimbursement for expenses that are not otherwise paid by another source, such as health insurance coverage or state crime victim compensation benefits, ITVERP has to confirm that each requested expense for reimbursement has not already been paid or should have been paid, by another source.

Yes. Generally the filing deadline is three years from the date of the terrorist incident. However the deadline may be extended at the discretion of the OVC Director, based on good cause.

Processing time varies. The application process involves verification of expenses and whether the expenses have been paid by other sources. This involves identifying providers, obtaining their contact information, and verifying services provided and/or amounts of coverage. Sometimes unique issues arise that have policy implications and require additional time for adequate consideration. Other times the application process involves contacting multiple government entities to verify essential claim information which can also take additional time depending on what information is needed.

Once your eligibility is determined and all required supporting documents are received and collateral sources and expenses are verified, ITVERP then prepares your application for final submission to and review by the OVC Director. The OVC Director makes the final determination about payment awards and denials.

Claimants who wish to appeal a final determination of an ITVERP claim must file an appeal in writing within 30 days. Appeals should be mailed to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Office of Justice Programs at the following address:

Office of the Assistant Attorney General
Office of Justice Programs
U.S. Department of Justice
810 Seventh Street, NW.
Washington, DC  20531