The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed a new anti-money laundering (AML) rule that requires professionals involved in real estate closings and settlements to report if a residential property is transferred to a legal entity or trust without financing, with seller financing, or with a lender that isn’t required to follow AML guidelines.
Effective on December 1, 2025, the new rule will require a closing/settlement agent in a covered transaction to complete and submit to FinCEN a Real Estate Report with specific information about the transaction. The report must be completed by whoever prepares the settlement statement, or, in the case of a split closing, whoever prepares the buyer's settlement statement.
Reports must be filed by the later date of either: (1) the final day of the month following the month in which the reportable transfer occurred; or (2) 30 calendar days after the date of closing.
See our previous blog post, What the FinCEN Final Rule Means for You, for a full list of the expected required information for reporting.
FinCEN has not yet issued the final version of the Real Estate Report form, but they have released a series of FAQs that can help real estate and title professionals better understand what will be be required for compliance when the rule goes into effect.
How SoftPro is Preparing for the FinCEN AML Rule
While we're waiting on confirmation of the final rule from FinCEN, SoftPro is preparing our solutions that will take you through the entire process, from data collection with the ALTA FinCEN Buyer/Seller Collection Forms to submission of the Real Estate Report to FinCEN. Beginning in November, we will be in touch with a variety of webinars, instructions for the download and installation of new features, and how-to information that covers everything you need to know about FinCEN AML compliance with SoftPro.
Stay tuned for more information from us in November, and in the meantime, here is a preview of the ways that SoftPro will be able to help you stay compliant and make reporting your data to FinCEN easier.
FinCEN Bundle
SoftPro Select Edition Only
For storage of certified buyer/seller data and mapping of fields
ClosingsLIVE
All Editions of SoftPro
For sending and receiving ALTA FinCEN Buyer/Seller Collection Form data
SoftPro 360
All Editions of SoftPro
For creation of the Real Estate Report and submission to FinCEN
agentTRAX
All Editions of SoftPro
Exclusively for use by agents of Fidelity, Chicago Title, and Commonwealth Title and available within SoftPro 360
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