The U.S. Congress put this CTA law in place to control money laundering and other crimes. I have a question I’ve sent to the FinCEN website if Notary Publics are required to submit information as Sole Proprietors who send application documents to the Secretary of State. The requested information is definitely required for LLC’s that some notarys utilize in their business plans. I’ll update as soon as I get the answer.
The deadline to submit to FinCEN is January 1, 2025. Failure to comply will be very serious at $500 per day and possible criminal jail sentence. The CTA was recently found unconstitutional in Alabama but only applies to the plaintiffs in the case. It hasn’t been suspended to the rest of the nation. (see video)
Update: To me it looks like sole proprietor notaries don’t need to do anything unless they are LLC or another business entity filed with the SOS. See their response below.
Thank you for contacting FinCEN. You are receiving this response for ticket number00048781.
We believe your question relates to:
Is a sole proprietorship a reporting company?
An entity is a reporting company only if it was created (or, if a foreign company, registered to do business) in the United States by filing such a document. Filing a document with a government agency to obtain (1) an IRS employer identification number, (2) a fictitious business name, or (3) a professional or occupational license does not create a new entity, and therefore does not make a sole proprietorship filing such a document a reporting company.
Sole proprietors do not meet the definition of a legal entity customer under the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule. Since a sole proprietorship is not a separate legal entity from an individual, the rule does not apply to such accounts.
Your welcome. Here is the update answer I received.
Update:** To me it looks like sole proprietor notaries don’t need to do anything unless they are LLC or another business entity filed with the SOS. See their response below.
Thank you for contacting FinCEN. You are receiving this response for ticket number00048781.
We believe your question relates to:
Is a sole proprietorship a reporting company?
An entity is a reporting company only if it was created (or, if a foreign company, registered to do business) in the United States by filing such a document. Filing a document with a government agency to obtain (1) an IRS employer identification number, (2) a fictitious business name, or (3) a professional or occupational license does not create a new entity, and therefore does not make a sole proprietorship filing such a document a reporting company.
Yes that’s what I thought when they responded as follows:
Update:** To me it looks like sole proprietor notaries don’t need to do anything unless they are LLC or another business entity filed with the SOS. See their response below.
Thank you for contacting FinCEN. You are receiving this response for ticket number00048781.
We believe your question relates to:
Is a sole proprietorship a reporting company?
An entity is a reporting company only if it was created (or, if a foreign company, registered to do business) in the United States by filing such a document. Filing a document with a government agency to obtain (1) an IRS employer identification number, (2) a fictitious business name, or (3) a professional or occupational license does not create a new entity, and therefore does not make a sole proprietorship filing such a document a reporting company.
Thank you … I’d forgotten about this. My accountant notified me that I’d have to do this, but I am going to wait to see if any of the lawsuits are successful in stopping this ridiculous reporting requirement. In reviewing it, my immediate thought is that this is targeting small businesses as large corporations, including PACS, are exempt from the requirement. When establishing my small business, I was required to provide lots of PII to several entities – the bank, the IRS, the state department of corporations, etc. In other words, by virtue of establishing my business as an individual and not in the name of another business, I have already proven that I am a real person. And read how you change the information if you sell your business. This requirement would be onerous and punitive for small business owners. It needs to be struck down.
“MEMORANDUM OPINION: The Court GRANTS the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and DENIES the Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss or Alternative Cross Motion for Summary Judgment. The Court will separately issue a final judgment. Signed by Judge Liles C Burke on 3/1/2024. (AHI)”
Thank You 
