As of January 1st, 2024, businesses are required to report their beneficial ownership information for each entity to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (also known as FinCEN), a division of the US Dept. of Treasury.

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), passed by Congress in 2021, created this new reporting requirement as part of an effort to make it harder for bad actors to hide funds or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.

This document will guide you through the process of providing your beneficial ownership info after placing an order through the Dashboard or Mobile App. If what you see on your screen doesn't look similar to the screenshots in this guide, please go here for our alternate guide to completing the beneficial ownership information form.
​

You can start the process from the "Next up" section at the top of the dashboard by clicking anywhere on the tile that says "Finish your Beneficial Ownership info now". After clicking the tile, the beneficial ownership info collection page will open in a new tab.
​
This first page displays the information you'll need to have ready to complete the process. If you have all the required information handy, click Next to proceed.
​

The process is divided into two sections: reporting company info and beneficial owner info.
​

This first question is to determine if the reporting company needs to file with FinCEN. There are several types of entities that aren't required to submit a beneficial ownership filing. You can consult the FinCEN Beneficial Ownership Guide for more information on these exempt entity types.
​

If you confirm that your entity is exempt from filing beneficial ownership information on this page, you'll be directed to reach out to our Customer Support team for further assistance. Otherwise, you can go to the next page.
​

The page will ask if you'd like a FinCEN ID. While you aren't required to have a FinCEN identifier, it can simplify the process when updating beneficial ownership info later on, as you won't have to re-enter your business data every time when filing with a FinCEN identifier.

If you'd like, ZenBusiness can apply for a reporting company FinCEN ID for you. This is optional and there's no extra charge.

Something to keep in mind: this question is referring only to a company FinCEN ID and not an individual FinCEN ID. The company FinCEN ID is the ID for the reporting company, not any of its owners or owner applicants. ZenBusiness doesn't currently obtain FinCEN IDs for beneficial owners. If you wish to get one, you can go directly to fincen.gov to apply.
​

Depending on whether you already have a DBA included in your ZenBusiness order, you'll see different screens.

If you have not ordered a DBA (Doing Business As) through ZenBusiness, you'll see the question, "Does the company have any alternate names?"
​
​

If you have ordered a DBA (Doing Business As) through ZenBusiness, you'll see the question, "Do you have another DBA name?"

You can choose either Yes or No in order to continue.

Note: DBA names that were previously provided to ZenBusiness for this entity will automatically be added to the DBA list on your filing. If any of the displayed DBA names are incorrect, please reach out to our support team to discuss removing the DBA from your account.
​

If Yes is selected, you'll be directed to a page where you can provide any other DBAs or trade names that you have self-filed with the state.

As a reminder, a DBA (Doing Business As) is a trade name that's typically filed at the county level which lets your business entity do business under a name other than the official name or business purpose of the entity.
​

You'll be directed to choose a Tax ID type (EIN, SSN, Foreign Tax ID) for the beneficial ownership info of the entity. If your EIN (Employer ID Number) isn't available before your due date, you'll have to provide an alternate Tax ID in order to meet the TIN requirement. Enter the tax identifier, and click Next to proceed.

At this time, ZenBusiness doesn't support Beneficial Ownership Filings for Foreign Tax IDs. If this is the only Tax ID type that can be provided, please contact Customer Support for help.
​

An entity qualifies as a pooled investment vehicle if it meets both the definition of an investment company as detailed in the 1940 Investment Company Act (includes some exceptions) and is owned or operated by one of these exempt entities: bank, credit union, broker, or dealer in securities, investment company or adviser, or venture capital fund adviser.

​If Yes is selected here, you will only need to report one beneficial owner. In cases in which there are more than one person controlling the business entity, you can report the individual with the most control over its management.
​
Select Yes or No, then click Next.
​

This section will reflect the principal address on file. Select Yes or No, then click Next.
​

If No is selected, you'll be asked to provide the current primary business location. You can either search for their address or add it manually.
​
Please note: this will not update the info in your ZenBusiness Business Profile, and it will not amend your address on file with the state. This will be saved as a beneficial ownership information-related address only, and state records won't be impacted. To update your address info on file with the state, place an order for an amendment via your Dashboard or contact our Customer Support team for further assistance.
​

This next section applies to the owners of the reporting company. You will need to gather the information for all beneficial owners or owners with substantial control to complete this section.
​

As a reminder, any individual who exercises substantial control, directly or indirectly, over a reporting company (meaning they can make important decisions for the company) or owns or controls at least 25% of the ownership interests. Someone with substantial control means they’re a senior officer. For more information on the roles and responsibilities that qualifies one as a senior officer, you can consult the FinCEN Small Entity Compliance Guide.

​

Once you have read the overview page, click Next to proceed.
​

You’ll see here that we have pre-populated the members and managers that you provided us when you set up your formation. For each of these individuals, provide their required info or delete if that individual isn't a beneficial owner or owner with substantial control. Once you have updated the pre-populated individuals, you'll be able to add individuals if they aren't already in the list.
​
For each beneficial owner, click the arrow to add details. To remove an owner, click the minus (-) sign to the left of the name.
​
Please note: the “Add another owner” text will be grayed out until all existing owners have been completed or removed. If you are looking to add another owner, you can review the owners currently listed first and either complete or remove that info before adding another owner.
​

Owner info will be pre-filled with info from our records, and most fields are grayed-out and can't be changed. In this section, you'll be required to enter a birthdate.

If you have an beneficial owner FinCEN ID, it can be provided here as well. FinCEN IDs for individuals begin with 3, while FinCEN IDs for entities begin with 2. (For example, a valid ID for an individual would look like this: 3XXX-XXX-XXXX.)

Please note: an beneficial owner FinCEN ID is not the same as the company FinCEN ID mentioned in Step 3 of this article, nor is it the company applicant FinCEN ID located in your ZenBusiness dashboard. A beneficial owner FinCEN ID would only be added if you obtained an ID from fincen.gov for the specific beneficial owner that you are reporting on. At this time, ZenBusiness doesn't obtain beneficial owner FinCEN IDs.
​

If the birthdate provided is for a minor, you'll be asked if you are the parent or guardian of the beneficial owner. After providing an answer, you'll then be asked to confirm the information for the parent/guardian of the beneficial owner.
​

The account holder’s info is prefilled, but all the fields can be edited. If the parent/guardian has an individual FinCEN ID, it can be entered here as well.
​
If providing an individual FinCEN ID, the field will show an error if the digits entered don't match the correct format. As a reminder, the individual FinCEN ID must be a 12-digit numerical value that starts with a 2 or 3.
​
After completing this section, you can click Next to continue.
​

You'll see a different screen based on whether the beneficial owner is a minor.
​
​

If the beneficial owner is an adult, the address is prefilled from our records, but you can edit any field.
​

If the beneficial owner is a minor, the address isn't prefilled, and you'll be required to enter their residential address.
​
Once completed, click Next to proceed.
​

A photo of an identifying document of the beneficial owner(s) is required for this process. Identifying document types include licenses, state IDs, or passports. If you choose License, a new State field will appear. You can enter the state that issued the license. The states must be written as their two-digit abbreviations. For example, Texas is TX.

For either document type that's selected, you'll be required to provide the ID number. Country (and optionally, State) are both freeform text fields, however the country section will be prefilled with US by default. Once completed, click Next to proceed.

A picture of the ID is required in order to file the Beneficial Ownership info report. This picture must be a PDF, JPEG, or PNG and must have a file size of under 4 MB. All other file types, as well as anything bigger than 4 MB, will be unacceptable.
​
You can click the plus (+) button to open the file browser. You can then choose an image, or drag-and-drop the image file into the box.
​

If the file is successfully uploaded, you'll see a green checkmark along with the text “Upload Complete”.
​

If the file is too large, you'll see the message “Your file must be 4 MB or less”.
​
​

If the file format is wrong, you'll see the message “Your file must be a PDF, JPEG or PNG.”

Once the image requirements have been met, click Next to proceed.
​

You'll be taken back to the screen from Step 10. The screen will now reflect “Complete” instead of “Details required” for the owner.
​

If there are multiple owners, the steps above must be repeated as many times as necessary until each beneficial owner section is completed.

When all beneficial owners have been added, click Next.
​

Congratulations! You have completed the Beneficial Ownership info form, and our team will be able to move forward, keeping you notified of any and all updates regarding the filing through email.
​

As a reminder, any changes made to your Beneficial Ownership info must be updated with FinCEN as well. These changes can be made through an updated Beneficial Ownership info report, which can be requested from the Beneficial Ownership page of your ZenBusiness dashboard.

To access the Beneficial Ownership page, navigate to the left sidebar, click on Compliance, and click on Beneficial Ownership from the drop-down menu.
​
Some changes may also require an amendment filing with the state, which can be ordered from the Amendment page under the Compliance tab.

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us, and someone from our Customer Success team will be able to help!

In some situations, customers may need to resubmit their beneficial ownership info. This typically happens if any of the initially submitted information is incorrect or doesn't meet FinCEN guidelines. All this means is we'll need to collect updated information from you.
​
If this is the case, our beneficial ownership info filing team will send an email to the contact email address on file for your ZenBusiness account clarifying what info is required.

A new "Next up" card will be displayed in your ZenBusiness dashboard notifying you that we require some information to be updated. You can click this card to correct and resubmit the information specified in the email we sent.

The resubmission process looks exactly the same as when you first provided your beneficial ownership info. Initially, you will see an exact copy of the answers you originally entered, and you will need to update the fields as specified in the email we sent to you. You can also update fields not specified in the email if you believe they are inaccurate.

As you progress through the pages for the reporting company, you'll be able to update fields as needed. If you only need to update beneficial ownership info, you can click Next until you reach the page to confirm your beneficial owner(s).

When updating any beneficial owner info, please note that you must click on the arrow next to the name of the beneficial owner that must be updated to get to the additional questions.

Something to keep in mind: if you click Next without making any changes, you will not be able to go back. If you need to restart the resubmission process, please contact our support team.

Once all the information requested in the email from our team has been provided, you can click Next to submit your updates.

Should any other info need to be updated after resubmitting your info, our Beneficial Ownership filing team will follow up through email to notify you what info is required. You'll then be able to begin the Resubmission process from the dashboard again.

The Corporate Transparency Act is a law that will require millions of the nation’s smallest business entities to report beneficial owner information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) starting in 2024. (FinCEN is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.)

The law was enacted because “illicit actors” often set up small LLCs and corporations as shell companies, or fronts, to hide the identities of owners who are engaged in money laundering, financing terrorism, and other illegal activities.

According to FinCEN, the term beneficial owner includes any individual who, directly or indirectly, either:

According to FinCEN, an individual can exercise substantial control over a reporting company in four different ways. If the individual falls into any of the categories below, the individual is exercising substantial control:
​

Beneficial Ownership Information refers to identifying information regarding individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company.

Businesses meeting these specific criteria must report information about their beneficial owners and those with substantial control:

and

You may be exempt from filing beneficial ownership information if your company is one of the following:

To meet new government requirements, most small businesses must report Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
Filing Deadlines depend on when your business was formed with the state:
​

If there’s a change in beneficial owner information after the initial report is filed, a company will have to file an update within 30 days of the change.

No. The BOI reports are made to the US federal government through FinCEN in an effort to fight financial crimes. Information reported that is not already public will not become public by completing the mandatory BOI report.

When there is a change to your business or beneficial ownership information, you’re required to update FinCEN within 30 days of the change. Examples of a change include:

A “FinCEN identifier” (or FinCEN ID) is a unique identifying number that FinCEN issues on request after the individual or reporting company provides certain information to FinCEN. Reporting companies, company applicants, and beneficial owners can each acquire their own FinCEN IDs. These IDs can be used when filing a report in place of filling out all the individuals' or reporting company’s info.

Here's a tip for identifying the correct ID: FinCEN IDs for individuals begin with 3, while FinCEN IDs for entities begin with 2. (For example, a valid ID for an individual would look like this: 3XXX-XXX-XXXX.)