FinCEN Issues Frequently Asked Questions to Clarify SAR Requirements
On October 9, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued answers to four Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to clarify certain requirements related to suspicious activity reports (SARs). FinCEN issued the FAQs jointly with the federal banking agencies, including the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
According to agency’s press release, by issuing these FAQs, “FinCEN is ensuring financial institutions are not needlessly expending resources on efforts that do not provide law enforcement and national security agencies with the critical information they need to detect, combat, and deter criminal activity.”
The FAQs were informed by feedback from financial institutions and they clarify regulatory requirements relating to structuring-related SARs, continuing activity reviews, and a financial institution’s decision not to file a SAR. The questions and answers are highlighted below. Please note that the answers are slightly condensed for purposes of this blog post. Click here to read the four FAQs in their entirety.
It is important to note that because the banking regulators and NCUA issued these FAQs jointly with FinCEN, to the extent that the revised FAQs diverge from preexisting regulatory guidance, these FAQs would be controlling as FinCEN is the ultimate regulatory authority on Bank Secrecy Act compliance matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question 1: SAR Filings for Potential Structuring-related Activity
Is a financial institution required to file a SAR for a transaction or a series of transactions with a value at or near the currency transaction reporting (CTR) threshold (i.e., over $10,000) absent information that the transaction or series of transactions is designed to evade BSA reporting requirements?
Answer: No. The mere presence of a transaction or series of transactions by or on behalf of the same person at or near the $10,000 CTR threshold is not information sufficient to require the filing of a SAR.
A financial institution is required to file a SAR for a transaction conducted or attempted by, at, or through the institution if it involves or aggregates at least $5,000 in funds or other assets and the institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect that, among other criteria, the transaction is designed to evade BSA reporting requirements (e.g., structuring a transaction to avoid a CTR filing). Absent this knowledge, suspicion, or reason to suspect, financial institutions are not required to file a SAR.
Question 2: Continuing Activity Reviews
Is a financial institution required to conduct a review of a customer or account following the filing of a SAR to determine whether suspicious activity has continued?
Answer: No. In the October 2000 SAR Activity Review: Trends, Tips and Issues, FinCEN suggested that financial institutions report repeated and ongoing suspicious activity via a SAR filing at least every 90 days. Over time, this suggestion has become interpreted as a requirement or expectation that financial institutions conduct a separate review of a customer or account following the filing of a SAR to determine whether suspicious activity has continued.
A financial institution is not required to conduct a separate review—manual or otherwise—of a customer or account following the filing of a SAR to determine whether suspicious activity has continued. Financial institutions instead may rely on risk-based internal policies, procedures, and controls to monitor and report suspicious activity as appropriate, provided those internal policies, procedures, and controls are reasonably designed to identify and report such activity.
Question 3: Continuing Activity Reviews – Timeline
What is the timeline for a financial institution that elects to file SARs in accordance with FinCEN’s continuing suspicious activity guidance?
Answer: As noted above, FinCEN previously suggested that financial institutions report continuing suspicious activity via a SAR filing at least every 90 days. Subsequent FinCEN guidance advised financial institutions to file SARs for continuing activity after a 90-day period with the filing deadline being 120 calendar days after the date of the previously related SAR filing. However, financial institutions are not required to do so and may instead file SARs as appropriate in line with applicable timelines.
For financial institutions that elect to file SARs in accordance with FinCEN’s continuing suspicious activity guidance, below is a timeline in which a financial institution files a SAR with an identified subject and determines that suspicious activity has continued:
Day 0: detection of facts that may constitute a basis for filing a SAR
Day 30: filing of initial SAR
Day 120: end of 90-day period
Day 150: filing of a SAR for continued suspicious activity
When filing a SAR for continuing activity, the date or date range of suspicious activity (Item 30 on the SAR form) should include the entire 90-day period starting on the date immediately following the filing of the initial SAR or the date following the end of the previous 90-day period.
Question 4: No SAR Documentation
Is a financial institution required to document the decision not to file a SAR?
Answer: No. There is no requirement or expectation under the BSA or its implementing regulations for a financial institution to document its decision not to file a SAR. FinCEN has previously encouraged, but not required, financial institutions to document the decision not to file a SAR.
Should a financial institution choose to document its decision not to file a SAR, the level of appropriate documentation may vary based on the specifics of the activity being reviewed and need not exceed that which is necessary for the institution’s internal policies, procedures, and controls, which should be risk-based and reasonably designed to identify and report suspicious activity.
Click on the following links for more FinCEN FAQs on BSA reporting involving SARs and CTRs:
FinCEN’s Frequently Asked Questions on Suspicious Activity Reports
FinCEN’s Frequently Asked Questions on Currency Transaction Reports
Questions? Suggestions for future blog posts? Contact the Compliance Team at compliance@americascreditunions.org.