Under the Corporate Transparency Act, various entities, including federal, state, local, Tribal officials, as well as certain foreign officials, making requests through a U.S. federal agency, have the authority to access beneficial ownership information. This database is not accessible to private citizens and is not considered public information.
Access is granted for purposes aligned with national security, intelligence, and law enforcement. Financial institutions may also access such information, under specific circumstances, provided there is consent from the reporting company. Additionally, regulatory bodies overseeing these financial institutions will have access during their supervisory processes.
FinCEN published the rule that will govern access to and protection of beneficial ownership information on December 22, 2023. Beneficial ownership information reported to FinCEN is stored in a secure, non-public database using rigorous information security methods and controls typically used in the Federal government to protect non-classified yet sensitive information systems at the highest security level.
FinCEN will continue to work closely with those authorized to access beneficial ownership information to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities in using the reported information only for authorized purposes and handling in a way that protects its security and confidentiality.