How to Register as an MSB With FinCEN, and How Long It Takes

You register by filing FinCEN Form 107 electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. You must file within 180 days after your business is established. FinCEN charges no fee and does not approve the form. You then renew every two years, and re-register after certain changes.

This page covers the federal step only. Each rule links to its source.

Who has to register

FinCEN lists the MSB services as money orders, traveler’s checks, money transmission, check cashing, currency exchange and currency dealing. FinCEN’s registration page says that "with few exceptions, each money services business (MSB) must register with the Department of the Treasury".

Crypto businesses are often caught as money transmitters. FinCEN’s 2019 guidance on convertible virtual currencies says "whether a person is a money transmitter under FinCEN’s regulations is a matter of facts and circumstances". It adds that "any non-exempt person engaged in money transmission must register with FinCEN within 180 days of starting to engage in money transmission".

One group does not register: a person that is an MSB only because it acts as an agent of another MSB. The principal MSB registers instead, and keeps a list of its agents.

Sources: FinCEN MSB registration; FinCEN guidance FIN-2019-G001.

Step 1: Confirm your business is an MSB

Write down each service you offer. Compare it with FinCEN’s list of MSB services and with the 2019 guidance. If you take crypto or money from one person and send value to another, you may be a money transmitter.

If you are unsure, get a written view before you file. Filing is simple. Getting the category wrong is not.

Step 2: Note your deadline

The rule is 31 CFR 1022.380. It says the form for the first registration period "must be filed on or before the end of the 180-day period beginning on the day following the date the business is established".

So the clock starts the day after your business is set up, not the day you feel ready. Put the date in your calendar on day one.

Step 3: Decide who signs

The rule says "any person who owns or controls a money services business is responsible for registering the business". FinCEN adds that the form "must be completed and signed by the owner or controlling person". Only one form is filed for each registration period.

Step 4: File FinCEN Form 107

File FinCEN Form 107, Registration of Money Services Business, through the BSA E-Filing System. FinCEN has required electronic filing of most of its reports since July 2012.

The form asks about the business, its owners and the MSB services it offers. It also names a person in the United States who can accept legal papers for the business.

FinCEN says "there is no cost for registration".

Step 5: Keep the records

Keep a copy of the filed form and your registration number. FinCEN says these must be "retained at a location in the United States for a period of five years".

If you use agents, prepare a list of them by the due date of your first registration. The rule then requires you to revise it each year, on 1 January.

Step 6: Renew every two years

A registration period is two calendar years. The first one starts with the calendar year in which you had to register. The rule says a renewal form "must be filed on or before the last day of the calendar year preceding the renewal period".

In plain terms, you renew before each new two-year period starts. It is not tied to the date you first filed.

Step 7: Re-register after big changes

The rule lists three events that require you to register again:

1. A change in ownership or control that means you must re-register under a state’s law.
2. A transfer of more than 10 percent of the voting power or equity of the business.
3. An increase of more than 50 percent in the number of your agents during a registration period.

The new form is due "not later than 180 days after" the change. The year of the change counts as the first year of a new two-year period.

Source for steps 2 to 7: 31 CFR 1022.380.

How long it takes

Filing the form takes little time. The real work is the duties you carry as an MSB. They include a written anti-money laundering programme, a person in charge of it, and a way to keep records and file reports. FinCEN’s 2019 guidance says money transmitters must meet "recordkeeping, reporting, and transaction monitoring obligations".

What FinCEN registration is not

It is not a licence. FinCEN does not check the business before it takes the form.

It is not the whole US picture. FinCEN registration is federal. State licensing for money transmission is a separate process with its own rules, and this page does not cover it.

It is not the end of your duties. The rule says: "It is unlawful to do business without complying with 31 U.S.C. 5330 and this section." Filing false or materially incomplete information also counts as failing to comply.

Next steps

For the full US set-up, including the compliance programme an MSB must run, see the US MSB registration service. If your clients are in Canada as well, FINTRAC runs a separate registration, covered on the Canada MSB page. To compare the time and fees with other countries, see our guides on how long a crypto license takes and what a crypto license costs. For other jurisdictions, see crypto licence application support.

Frequently asked questions

How long does FinCEN MSB registration take?

There is no review period, because FinCEN does not approve the form. You must file within 180 days after the business is established.

Does it cost anything to register as an MSB with FinCEN?

No. FinCEN says there is no cost for registration.

How often do I renew an MSB registration?

Every two calendar years. The first period starts with the calendar year in which you first had to register. Each renewal is due by the last day of the calendar year before the next period starts.

Do crypto businesses need to register as an MSB?

Many do. FinCEN’s 2019 guidance says exchangers of virtual currency generally qualify as money transmitters. A business that is an MSB only as another MSB’s agent does not register itself.

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*Sources: FinCEN MSB registration page; FinCEN enforcement page on failure to register; FinCEN guidance FIN-2019-G001 (9 May 2019); 31 CFR 1022.380 (last amended November 2016).*