The Passenger Act of 1882 is a United States federal statute establishing occupancy control regulations for seafaring passenger ships completing Atlantic and Pacific transoceanic crossings to America during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Act of Congress sanctioned vessel compartment dimensions in cubic feet comparable to the level within a ship's deck. The public law authorized the numerical serialization of berths which were subject to compartment occupancy inspections of emigrants and ocean liner passengers. The Law of the United States accentuated and endorsed a regulatory clause stating no person, on arrival of a vessel in a port, will be allowed to go aboard a passenger ship necessitating a bow to stern inspection.

The Immigration Act of 1882 was simultaneously presented during the 47th United States congressional session which was enacted into law on August 3, 1882. The H.R. 6722 bill was passed by the 47th congressional session and enacted into law by the 21st President of the United States Chester Arthur on August 2, 1882.

The United States federal law was penned as fourteen sections emphasizing essentials for safe passage during an oceanic voyage associated with an American port.

Carriage of Passengers by Sea – 22 Stat. 186 § 1

Emigrants and passengers, other than cabin passengers, from foreign ports to be provided compartments

Sailing vessel restrictions and requirements

Space per passenger

Computation of children boarded on vessel

Violation of Act penalties

Proper Accommodations on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 186–187 § 2

Berths for passengers

Regulations and rules for occupancy

Children

Females

Husband and wife

Males

Unmarried females

Families

Serial numbers for berths

Inspections of berths

Violation of Act penalties

Sanitation and Ventilation of Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 187–188 § 3

Light and air to passenger decks and compartments

Hatchways

Companionway

Caboose with sufficient cooking capacity

Water closet

Privy location to be separated from passengers' spaces with constructed partitions

Violation of Act penalties

Nutrition on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 188 § 4

Wholesome food as fresh provisions

Meals per day

Short allowance and monetary penalty paid by the deck master

Mothers with infants

Tables and seats

Violation of Act penalties

Hospital on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 188 § 5

Hospital accommodations of two compartments

Qualified and competent surgeon or medical practitioner

Medicines and surgical appliances for diseases and accidents during sea voyages

Violation of Act penalties

Hygiene on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 188–189 § 6

Cleanliness and discipline to be maintained during voyage

Space on main deck for exercise of passengers

Violation of Act penalties

Navigational Crew on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 189 § 7

Officers and seamen prohibited from visiting passengers' compartments

Violation of section penalties

Section of Act posted on decks concerning fraternizing with navigational crew

Violation of Act penalties

Prohibited Articles on Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 189 § 8

Dynamite

Gunpowder

Nitroglycerin

Vitriol

Other explosive compounds

Violation of Act penalties

Boarding Arriving Vessels Before Inspection – 22 Stat. 189–190 § 9

No person, on arrival of vessel in port, allowed to go aboard

Correct list of passengers, with deaths if any, to be delivered to first officer of customs on board

Duplicate of list to be delivered to collector of customs

Violation of Act penalties

Death on the High Seas – 22 Stat. 190 § 10

In case of death of passengers at sea, master of vessel to pay, money paid into the U.S. Treasury

Violation of Act penalties

Occupancy Integrity of Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 190 § 11

Examination and inspection of vessel by collector of customs

Report made to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury

Applicability of Act for Vessels Carrying Emigrants and Passengers – 22 Stat. 191 § 12

Provisions of this act apply to vessels carrying emigrants from United States to foreign countries

Clearance of vessels withheld until compliance with provisions of this Act

Violation of Act penalties

Violations of Act Provisions for Steamships or Other Vessels – 22 Stat. 191 § 13

Fines and penalties to be lien upon vessel

Effective Date of Act Provisions – 22 Stat. 191 § 14

Act shall come into effect ninety days after passage of Act

Act may be cited for all purposes as "The Passenger Act, eighteen hundred and eighty-two"

United States legislation relative to the Passenger Act of 1882.

1847 North American typhus epidemic

Carriage of Passengers Act of 1855

Coffin ship

Diseases and epidemics of the 19th century

Quarantine

Steerage Act of 1819

• Russell, William Clark (1893). "The Emigrant Ship – Volume I". Internet Archive. London, England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company.
• Russell, William Clark (1893). "The Emigrant Ship – Volume II". Internet Archive. London, England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company.
• Russell, William Clark (1893). "The Emigrant Ship – Volume III". Internet Archive. London, England: Sampson Low, Marston & Company.
• Emmons, Frederick E. (1985). American Passenger Ships: The Ocean Lines and Liners, 1873–1983. Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 978-0874132489. LCCN 83050652. OCLC 492356630.
• Cairis, Nicholas T. (1992). Era of the Passenger Liner. London, UK; Boston, MA.: Pegasus Books. ISBN 978-0929624037. LCCN 92008575. OCLC 231560622 – via Internet Archive.

• "Passenger and Crew Vessel Lists for New York, NY 1897-1957". Internet Archive. United States National Archives and Records Service.
• "Passenger Lists of Vessels for Baltimore and Philadelphia". Internet Archive. United States National Archives and Records Service.
• Hooker, Albert H. (1913). "Chloride of Lime in Sanitation". Internet Archive. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. LCCN 13007938. OCLC 1087145218.