Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): register, licences and requirements
FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) is the US Treasury bureau enforcing the Bank Secrecy Act. It does not issue licences: money services businesses, including money transmitters and crypto exchangers, must register: not be licensed: via Form 107. As of September 2026 FinCEN's register lists 28,969 active MSB registrants. Actual money-transmission licensing is separate, done state-by-state through NMLS.
How to check a firm on the FinCEN register
Search by BSA ID/registration number, legal or DBA name, street address, city, state, ZIP, MSB activity type, or the states in which the business operates. An active entry shows the registrant's legal name, DBA name, address, the MSB activities it engages in, the states of operation, number of branches, and the dates the Form 107 registration was signed and received. The tool does not show a licence status, only whether a Form 107 registration is on file.4
At a glance
| Official name | Financial Crimes Enforcement Network |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | United States |
| Type | Financial intelligence unit |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Virginia1 |
| Founded | 19902 |
| Website | fincen.gov3 |
| Public register | Official public register4 |
| Licence types in the Atlas | 1 |
What FinCEN supervises
FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Financial Intelligence Unit. It administers the Bank Secrecy Act, collecting and analysing financial data (currency, suspicious-activity and MSB registration reports) to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crime. It does not licence businesses; it registers and regulates for BSA/AML compliance, and money-transmission licensing itself sits with the 50 states via NMLS.2
- Money services businesses (money transmitters, currency dealers/exchangers, check cashers, issuers/sellers/redeemers of money orders and traveler's checks, providers of prepaid access) for Bank Secrecy Act registration and AML compliance6
- Banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, casinos and other 'financial institutions' as defined by the Bank Secrecy Act, for AML programme, recordkeeping and reporting obligations2
- Permitted payment stablecoin issuers, proposed (2026) to be treated as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act with AML/CFT and sanctions-compliance obligations under the GENIUS Act7
- Beneficial ownership information reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act: narrowed by an August 2026 final rule to foreign reporting companies only8
Licences FinCEN issues
Lesser-known services for applicants
Pre-application meeting / pre-assessment
The regulator does not publish this.
Innovation hub
The regulator does not publish this.
Regulatory sandbox
The regulator does not publish this.
Application portal: BSA E-Filing System (https://bsaefiling.fincen.gov/): the electronic system used to file Form 107 MSB registrations and re-registrations5
Compare with other regulators: pre-application meetings · sandboxes and innovation hubs.
Statistics
- 28,969 money services businesses registered with FinCEN (MSB Registrant Search, as of 2026-09-22)4
Fees and timelines
| Licence | Fee | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Registration of Money Services Business (Form 107 / RMSB) | application | No fee6 |
| Licence | Statutory deadline | Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Registration of Money Services Business (Form 107 / RMSB) | None: Form 107 is a self-filed registration with no FinCEN approval or decision step; it must be filed within 180 days of the MSB being established6 | not published |
Changing the owner of a licensed firm
Notification only. No FinCEN approval or vetting of acquirers exists because MSB registration is not a licence. A transfer of more than 10% of an MSB's voting power or equity interests (31 CFR 1022.380(b)(4)), any ownership/control change requiring re-registration under state law, or a rise of more than 50% in the number of agents, triggers a mandatory re-registration: a new Form 107 filed via BSA E-Filing within 180 days of the event, with no waiting period for approval. State money-transmitter regulators, where the entity also holds a state licence, separately vet controllers on their own thresholds and timelines (not covered here).6
Laws FinCEN applies
- Bank Secrecy Act: 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314, 5316-5336 (Pub. L. 91-508, as amended); implementing rules at 31 CFR Chapter X
Recent and upcoming changes
- 2026-08-11: FinCEN issued a final rule permanently ending Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting for U.S. companies and U.S. persons; only foreign reporting companies still must file.9
- 2026-04-08: FinCEN and OFAC jointly proposed a rule (comment period to 2026-06-09) that would treat GENIUS Act permitted payment stablecoin issuers as BSA 'financial institutions', requiring AML/CFT and sanctions-compliance programs.7
Contacts and public register
Address: FinCEN Disclosure Office, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 2218310
Website: fincen.gov3
Check whether a firm is licensed: official register4.
Frequently asked questions
Is FinCEN registration a money transmitter licence?
No. FinCEN's Form 107 (RMSB) is a Bank Secrecy Act registration, not a licence, approval or endorsement: FinCEN itself warns that describing it as one is a scam indicator. Authority to actually transmit money comes from separate state money-transmitter licences, obtained through NMLS in nearly every state where customers are served.
How many money services businesses are registered with FinCEN?
FinCEN's MSB Registrant Search listed 28,969 total registered MSBs as of 2026-09-22. This figure covers all MSB activity types (money transmission, currency exchange, check cashing, money orders, prepaid access) combined, not money transmitters or crypto businesses alone.
Does FinCEN charge a fee to register as an MSB?
No fee has been found stated on FinCEN's own site, and secondary legal sources confirm there is no filing fee for MSB registration via Form 107. The absence of a fee is consistent with registration being a mandatory filing rather than a licence application.
What happens to a FinCEN MSB registration when the business is sold?
The registration stays with the entity; it cannot be assigned to a buyer. But transferring more than 10% of voting power or equity, or another ownership change requiring re-registration under state law, forces the MSB to re-file Form 107 within 180 days. FinCEN does not vet or approve the new owners.
Does FinCEN offer a sandbox or pre-application help for fintechs?
There is no FinCEN regulatory sandbox. Its Innovation Hours Program gives fintech/regtech firms monthly slots to present AML compliance innovations to FinCEN staff, and its 2019 Innovation Initiative said it would consider case-by-case exceptive relief for compliance pilots, but no defined sandbox cohorts or windows exist.
What changed for beneficial ownership (BOI) reporting in 2026?
A FinCEN final rule effective 2026-08-11 permanently ended Corporate Transparency Act beneficial-ownership reporting for all US-formed companies and US persons. Only foreign entities registered to do business in the US that qualify as 'reporting companies' still have to file BOI reports.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network · secondary · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov: overview · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov · retrieved 2026-09-24
- msb.fincen.gov · retrieved 2026-09-24
- bsaefiling.fincen.gov · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov: money services business msb registration · retrieved 2026-09-24
- federalregister.gov: permitted payment stablecoin issuer anti money launderingcou · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov: boi · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov: fincen permanently ends beneficial ownership reporting requi · retrieved 2026-09-24
- fincen.gov: filing foia request · retrieved 2026-09-24
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