# AMLD: Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (as amended by the fifth, 2018/843)

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/eu-amld-2015-849/

The fourth AML Directive, 2015/849, as amended by the fifth, 2018/843, is the EU basis of today's national anti-money-laundering laws. It made crypto exchanges and custodian wallet providers obliged entities that had to register nationally, the VASP registrations that preceded MiCA, and it applies until the AMLR replaces it on 10 July 2027.

## At a glance

| Official title | Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing [1] |
| --- | --- |
| English title | Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (as amended by the fifth, 2018/843) |
| Citation | Directive (EU) 2015/849 |
| Jurisdiction | European Union (applies in every EU/EEA state) |
| Type | directive |
| Adopted | 2015-05-20 |
| In force from | 2015-06-25 |
| Status | In force until the AMLR and AMLD6 apply on 10 July 2027 |

## Full text

**Official full text:** [Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (as amended by the fifth, 2018/843) (PDF, en)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32015L0849) [1] · 676 KB · file checked 2026-09-24

Official page: [eur-lex.europa.eu](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2015/849/oj) [1]

## Summary

The fourth AML Directive, as amended by the fifth (Directive (EU) 2018/843), is the basis of the national anti-money-laundering laws in force today. The fifth directive brought providers of exchange services between virtual and fiat currencies and custodian wallet providers into scope and required member states to register them: the origin of the national VASP registrations that preceded MiCA. The directive sets risk-based customer due diligence, beneficial ownership registers and suspicious-transaction reporting.

Summary written by the Atlas from the official text; the law itself prevails.

## Main articles

- **Art. 2(1)(3)(g), (h)**: Virtual currency exchange providers and custodian wallet providers as obliged entities (added by 2018/843).
- **Art. 13**: Customer due diligence measures.
- **Art. 30**: Central registers of beneficial owners.
- **Art. 47(1)**: Registration of virtual currency exchange and custodian wallet providers.

## Licences it governs

- [Credit · EstoniaAuthorisation for operating as a financial institution (Tegevusluba finantseerimisasutusena tegutsemiseks)FIU](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/lending/estonia-financial-institution/)
- [TCSP · EstoniaAuthorisation for providing trust and company services (Tegevusluba usaldushaldusteenuse ja äriühinguteenuse osutamiseks)FIU](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/trust-company/estonia/)

## Regulators that apply it

- [SpainBank of Spain (BdE)Banco de España is Spain's national central bank and banking supervisor, operating as an integral part of the European System of Central Ban](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/banco-de-espana/)
- [LuxembourgCommission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF)The CSSF operates as the unified public supervisory authority for the Luxembourg financial centre, conducting prudential supervision and mar](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/cssf-luxembourg/)
- [EstoniaEstonian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit (Rahapesu Andmebüroo) is an independent government agency under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/fiu-estonia/)

## Upcoming changes

- 2027-07-10: Replaced by the AMLR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1624) and AMLD6 (Directive (EU) 2024/1640). [1]

## Sources

1. [eur-lex.europa.eu: TXT (32015L0849)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32015L0849): retrieved 2026-09-24

Last verified 2026-09-24 · Author: Danil Marmysh · Reviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova · © Protegra. Data: CC BY 4.0, cite "Protegra Licensing Atlas". Not legal advice.