No. Generally, only a “person” as that is defined under the Act can sue or be sued. Under the False Claims Act, the term “person” includes organizations of persons, such as corporations.

The types of relators are as follows:

Employees: An employee who blows the whistle on his or her employer is one of the most common types of relators. Experience has shown that employees normally file qui tam actions against their employers as a last resort after repeated attempts to resolve the issues internally (very often through so-called internal "hotlines") have met with negative results. An important provision of the 1986 amendment protects employees who file an action, or assists in furthering an action, against job retaliation by the employer.

Former employees: This is another common type of whistleblower who files a qui tam action. A former employee files a qui tam action based on his or her direct knowledge of fraud on the part of their former employer. In many cases, the former employee was terminated or quit under duress as a result of trying to blow the whistle internally.

Competitors and Subcontractors: Another type of relator is the competitor of the company being charged or an employee of the competitor who has direct knowledge of the fraud being committed. Also, companies or persons who subcontract with a Government contractor have filed qui tam actions against the contractor.

State and Local Governments: The 1986 Amendments gave state and local governments the power to be relators in qui tam actions. Since then, there have been a number of qui tam actions filed by local and state governments against contractors and medical providers as a means of recovering state or local revenue lost as a result of the schemes.

Federal Employees: A much maligned group are federal employees who file qui tam actions. The Act, as amended in 1986, does not exclude federal employees from being a relator. However, when a federal employee does file a qui tam action, it can result in considerable controversy and numerous court challenges. Despite the court challenges, a recent federal appeals court decision upheld the right of a federal employee to be a relator in a qui tam action.

Other types of qui tam relators have included public interest groups, unions, corporations and other private organizations. However, some corporate relators have raised questions as to whether they can meet the "public disclosure" provision of the law. Some courts have not allowed organizations or corporations to be False Claims Act relators.