FinCEN BOI Reporting: What’s Required & Resources

As you likely heard, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) now requires certain newly-formed and start-up businesses to report their Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI)—basically, the info about the individuals who own or control the company.

(Updated July 2024: Curious about why both your bank and FinCen need similar info? Check out this Reference Guide.)

Although it’s free to do so, this requirement may seem a little confusing. Here are a few helpful tips to get you started from the FinCEN BOI website.

Who: Your company may need to report BOI to FinCEN if you are either:

1. A corporation, a limited liability company (LLC), or was otherwise created in the United States by filing a document with a Secretary of State or any similar office under the law of a state or Indian tribe.

2. A foreign company and registered to do business in any U.S. state or Indian tribe by such a filing.

There are a number of exceptions to who need to report. Check out the FinCEN website for a full list

When: The deadline to file varies depending on when your company was created or registered to do business. It can be anywhere from a year to 30 calendar days. To see what rules apply to your business, read about it in the FinCEN BOI FAQ.

What: It’s a good idea to collect detailed information about your company and its beneficial owners before reporting. This could include (see a full list in the FinCEN BOI guide):

For the Reporting Company:

• Full legal name
• Any trade name or “doing business as” (DBA) name
  • Report all trade names or DBAs.
• Complete current U.S. address
• Report the address of the principal place of business in United States, or, if the reporting company’s principal place of business is not in the United States, the primary location in the United States where the company conducts business.
• State, Tribal, or foreign jurisdiction of formation
  • For a foreign reporting company only, State or Tribal jurisdiction of first registration
• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (including an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
  • If a foreign reporting company has not been issued a TIN, report a tax identification number issued by a foreign jurisdiction and the name of such jurisdiction.

For Each Beneficial Owner and Company Applicant:

• Full legal name
• Date of birth
• Complete current address
  • Report the individual’s residential street address, except for company applicants who form or register a company in the course of their business, such as paralegals. For such individuals, report the business street address. The address is not required to be in the United States.
• Unique identifying number and issuing jurisdiction from, and image of, one of the following non-expired documents:
  • U.S. passport
  • State driver’s license
  • Identification document issued by a state, local government, or tribe
  • If an individual does not have any of the previous documents, foreign passport

Important Note: what you need to report may change depending on special reporting rules if you’re company is owned by an exempt entity, if a beneficial owner is a minor child or a foreign pooled investment vehicle, or if your company was created or registered before Jan. 1, 2024. The FinCEN website has more details for you if this applies.

Just the FAQs: FinCEN has put together a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions about BOI reporting. Access it here.