---
type: "LegalText"
title: "4 U.S.C. § 72"
description: "Public offices; at seat of Government"
jurisdiction: "us"
corpus: "united_states_code"
kind: "code_section"
title_number: 4
title_name: "FLAG AND SEAL, SEAT OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE STATES"
chapter_number: "3"
chapter_name: "SEAT OF THE GOVERNMENT"
section: "72"
citation: "4 U.S.C. § 72"
status: "current"
release_point: "119-100"
release_date: "2026-06-26"
source: "official"
source_url: "https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc04@119-100.zip"
source_identifier: "/us/usc/t4/s72"
source_file: "data/legal/raw/us/code/title-04/usc04.xml"
source_hash: "7ad6bdf2cc3a575c3fb4666b82955d5bf22d281d0f65fcf4404e5c3c51ba05e6"
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text_hash: "59e1819a5766c6459e0614975ef7906011ab16e811a6b9a94254c52772d50f95"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-04"
confidence: "official"
tags: ["legal", "us-code"]
---

# 4 U.S.C. § 72 - Public offices; at seat of Government

## Text

All offices attached to the seat of government shall be exercised in the District of Columbia, and not elsewhere, except as otherwise expressly provided by law.

(July 30, 1947, ch. 389, 61 Stat. 643.)