(a) Appropriate use should be made of the cooperative efforts of other DOL and Federal agencies in effecting collection by salary offset. Generally, paying agencies should comply with requests from other agencies to initiate salary offset to collect debts owed to the United States, unless the creditor agency has not complied with applicable regulations or the request would otherwise be contrary to law.

(b) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, a DOL agency may request that the current pay account of a debtor in another DOL or Federal agency be administratively offset in order to collect debts owed the creditor DOL agency by the debtor. In requesting a salary offset, the creditor DOL agency must provide the paying DOL agency or other paying Federal agency with written certification stating:

(1) That the debtor owes the creditor agency a debt (including the basis and amount of the debt);

(2) The date on which payment was due;

(3) The date on which the Government's right to collect the debt first accrued; and

(4) Where the paying agency is another federal agency, that the creditor agency's regulations under 5 U.S.C. 5514 have been approved by the Office of Personnel Management, and that the creditor agency has followed such regulations to the best of its information and belief.