Certification
(d) Certification means a written statement transmitted from a creditor agency to a paying agency for purposes of administrative or salary offset, to Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service for offset or to the Secretary of the Treasury for centralized administrative offset. The certification confirms the existence and amount of the debt and verifies that required procedural protections have been afforded the debtor. Where the debtor requests a hearing on a claimed debt, the decision by a hearing official or administrative law judge constitutes a certification.