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 sharing your beneficial ownership information.
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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".

You can also click the "Get Started" button in the banner at the top of your dashboard.

After selecting one of these options, the beneficial ownership info collection page will open in a new tab.

A couple things to keep in mind while filling out this form:

This first question is to confirm 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 (excluded) entity types.
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The dropdown lets you choose between types of excluded entities.

If you choose any of the entity types in the list, confirming that your entity is exempt from filing beneficial ownership information, you'll be directed to reach out to our Customer Support team for further assistance.

If your entity is not exempt from filing, you can select “None of these” from the bottom of the list and proceed to the next set of questions.
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The next section will ask what type of Beneficial Ownership Filing are you submitting.

From the drop-down menu, you'll see the following options:

For most customers, this will be your initial filing with FinCEN. If you need to correct or update your beneficial ownership info, you can select that option instead. Please note: per FinCEN guidelines, corrections and updates should be completed within 30 days of the change or identification of the incorrect information.

Once you have selected one of the choices from the drop-down menu, you can continue to the reporting company info.
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Next, you’ll be asked for information about the business entity you are submitting the beneficial ownership information for. This is also referred to as the reporting company.

First, the form asks 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. (This option will not be shown if the filing type "Newly exempt entity" was selected.)

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

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.
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Next, the form asks if the reporting company is a foreign pooled investment vehicle.

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. (This option will not be shown if the filing type "Newly exempt entity" was selected.)

​If Yes is selected here, you will only need to report one beneficial owner. In cases where there are more than one person controlling the business entity, FinCEN advises that you report the individual with the most control over its management.
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The reporting company name should be pre-populated by the system. If it is not, please contact Customer Support.

Next, the page will also ask if the business entity has any DBAs, or alternate/trade names. As a reminder, DBAs (Doing Business As) and trade names are typically filed at the county level and allow your business entity do business under a name other than the official name or business purpose of the entity.

If you have acquired any alternate names, you can type them into the empty field. If your business entity has not acquired or filed for any alternate names, this section can be left blank.

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.

Depending on what you select, you will see different fields.

If you select Foreign, you will be informed that Foreign Tax IDs are not currently supported. If this is the only Tax ID type that can be provided, please contact Customer Support for help.

If you select EIN or SSN/ITIN, you will see additional questions about the reporting company. In the next empty field, enter the tax identifier.

Next, you'll be directed to select the country or jurisdiction where the business was formed.

Click on the down arrow to see the drop down menu. For most of our customers, you will select “United States of America”, which is at the top of the list. American territories are listed directly below, then all other countries.

You'll then be prompted to choose whether your formation occurred in a state or tribal jurisdiction.

After providing an answer, you'll be asked for the state or tribal jurisdiction of the formation.

After choosing one, continue to the next field.

Here, you'll be asked for the current location of the reporting company.

Be sure to fill out each required field before continuing. This address must be a physical US address. FinCEN does not allow PO Boxes or PMBs.

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 from your Dashboard or contact our Customer Support team for further assistance.

The next question is referring to the date your business entity was created. Companies that were registered before January 1, 2024, are required to file a report by January 1st of 2025, whereas companies that are registered after January 1, 2024, are required to file their beneficial ownership info within 90 days of formation.

Selecting "No" indicates that the reporting company was formed in 2024. If this is the case, your company applicant (i.e. the person who filed the formation with the state) will need to be reported, which we'll cover in the next step.

Selecting "Yes" indicates that the reporting company was formed prior to 2024. If your entity was formed prior to 2024, you can proceed to the Beneficial Owner section.

In this section, you will be providing your company applicant info, which is the individual who submitted the entity's formation documents to the state. If you formed your entity through ZenBusiness, our team will already have this info included in the filing, and you can skip to the Beneficial Owner section.

If you didn't form your entity through ZenBusiness, continue following this step.
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First, you'll be asked to confirm whether or not ZenBusiness filed your formation.

If you chose the second option indicating someone other than ZenBusiness filed your formation filing, you'll be asked if your company applicant has a FinCEN ID.
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If you selected the first option indicating ZenBusiness handled your formation filing, you won't need to provide any company applicant info and can click Next Page to proceed. You can now proceed to the Beneficial Owner section of this guide.

If you do have a company applicant FinCEN ID to provide, you can select "Yes" and then enter the FinCEN ID in the empty field below. After providing this info, if you'd like to report a second company applicant, you can click “Add Another Company Applicant”. If there is only one company applicant, or if both have a FinCEN ID, you can now proceed to the Beneficial Owner section.

If you don't have a company applicant FinCEN ID to provide, you can select "No". You will then be asked to provide info about your company applicant including an identifying document.

Without a company applicant FinCEN ID, additional information about your company applicant will be required, including first and last name, date of birth, and full address of the company applicant. All required fields are marked with a red asterisk.

You will also be asked to indicate whether the company applicant's address is a business address or residential address.

For a company applicant who filed your formation in the course of their business (e.g. paralegals), you can enter the street address of their business. Otherwise, enter the individual’s street address.

After filling out the required fields, a photo of an identifying document of the company applicant will also be required. Identifying document types include state-issued driver's licenses and non-driver's licenses (state IDs), U.S. and foreign passports, as well as local/tribal IDs.

Choose one of the options listed and enter the identifying document number in the empty field to the right.

Please note: if any of the options other than "U.S. passport" are chosen, you will have to confirm the jurisdiction info of the document, whether it be the state, country, or tribal jurisdiction, before continuing.

Once you have chosen a document type, you will be able to upload a picture of the ID by clicking the "Choose File" button. 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.

When the file is successfully uploaded, you'll see the file name displayed next to "Choose File".

In some circumstances, a business entity may have more than one (up to two) company applicants. If this applies to your entity, you can click "Add Another Company Applicant" to add a second company applicant, going through this process once more.

At this point, you should have completed all the necessary company applicant info. When you are ready to begin providing your beneficial ownership info, you can click "Next Page" to proceed.

In the case that you left any required fields blank, a message will be displayed notifying you that some required info is missing.

After clicking "OK", please review the info you provided. Empty fields will show “This field is required.” under them. Once you have completed each required field, you can click "Next Page" again to move on to the beneficial ownership info.

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.
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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.
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The first question on this form is asking if the beneficial owner is a minor child, in which case the parent or guardian's information is to be provided instead. Select "No", if the beneficial owner is not a minor.
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Next, the form asks if the beneficial owner has a FinCEN ID. If you do not have a beneficial owner ID, you can continue to Step 19.

If "Yes" is selected, a field will appear below where the ID can be provided. 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.)

If the reporting company has a second beneficial owner, you can click “Add Additional Beneficial Owners”, and you'll go through the steps again, starting at Step 15. If there is only one beneficial owner, or if both (or all) have a FinCEN ID, you can proceed to the next step.

Please note: an beneficial owner FinCEN ID is not the same as the company FinCEN ID mentioned in earlier in this guide, 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. You can find more info about FinCEN IDs here.
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Next, you'll be asked if the beneficial owner is an exempt entity or an individual. Depending on what you select, you'll see different screens.

If you selected "Individual", you'll have to provide more information about the beneficial owner. You can proceed to the next step.

Otherwise, if you selected "Exempt Entity", you'll only have to enter the entity’s legal name. After provided the legal name of the exempt entity, you can continue to Step 22 if the exempt entity is the only beneficial owner. If you need to add more beneficial owners, you can click "Add Additional Beneficial Owners" and follow the steps once more, beginning at Step 16.

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If "Individual" was selected, additional information about the beneficial owner will be required, including first and last name, date of birth, and full address of the beneficial owner. All required fields are marked with a red asterisk.

After completing the beneficial owner info, if the reporting company has another beneficial owner, you can click “Add Additional Beneficial Owners”, and you'll go through the steps again, starting at Step 16. If there is only one beneficial owner, or if both (or all) have a FinCEN ID, you can proceed to the next step.

After filling out the required fields, a photo of an identifying document of the beneficial owner will also necessary.

Identifying document types for the beneficial owner identifying document include state-issued driver's licenses and non-driver's licenses (state IDs), U.S. and foreign passports, as well as local/tribal IDs. Choose one of the options listed and enter the identifying document number in the empty field to the right.

Please note: if any of the options other than "U.S. passport" are chosen, you will have to confirm the jurisdiction info of the document, whether it be the state, country, or tribal jurisdiction, before continuing.

Once you have chosen a document type, you will be able to upload a picture of the ID by clicking the "Choose File" button. 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.

When the file is successfully uploaded, you'll see the file name displayed next to "Choose File".
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At this point, if the reporting company has any other beneficial owners, you can click “Add Additional Beneficial Owners”, and you'll repeat the steps above, starting at Step 16. Once all of beneficial owners have been added, you can continue to the next step.

The last step is to agree to the ZenBusiness Beneficial Ownership Filing Terms, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy and complete the Captcha.

Once the Captcha is completed, click Submit to proceed.

In the case that you left any required fields blank, a message will let you know that some required info is missing.

After clicking "OK", please review the info you provided. Empty fields will show “This field is required.” under them. Once you have completed each required field, you can click "Submit" again.

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.
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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 menu, and click on Compliance.
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From the Compliance page, you can click on Beneficial Ownership from the tabs in the center.

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!

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:
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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:

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

The regulations went into effect on January 1, 2024. Companies that were created or registered before January 1, 2024, will have one year (until January 1, 2025) to file their initial reports. Companies created or registered after January 1, 2024, will have 90 days after creation or registration to file their initial reports.

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.)