FinCEN confirms Beneficial Ownership Reporting requirement remains suspended despite Supreme Court decision overturning 1 injunction

Jan 24, 2025

The legal merry-go-round on the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirement under the Corporate Transparency Act continues to spin. Yesterday, the Supreme Court overturned an injunction levied by a 5th Circuit judge in Texas. However, the ruling left standing another injunction in a separate Texas case based on different legal grounds. FinCen confirmed that the requirement to file is not in force:

Alert: Ongoing Litigation – Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. McHenry, et al., No. 4:24-cv-00478 (E.D. Tex.) & Voluntary Submissions [Updated January 24, 2025]

In light of a recent federal court order, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.

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On January 23, 2025, the Supreme Court granted the government’s motion to stay a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge in Texas (Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc. v. McHenry—formerly, Texas Top Cop Shop v. Garland). As a separate nationwide order issued by a different federal judge in Texas (Smith v. U.S. Department of the Treasury) still remains in place, reporting companies are not currently required to file beneficial ownership information with FinCEN despite the Supreme Court’s action in Texas Top Cop Shop. Reporting companies also are not subject to liability if they fail to file this information while the Smith order remains in force. However, reporting companies may continue to voluntarily submit beneficial ownership information reports.

Efforts by business groups to permanently void the reporting requirement are underway and the new administration may not defend it going forward.

Meanwhile, some compliance organizations are soliciting NNA members to file reports citing the Supreme Court decision. It is misleading to suggest that the decision has renewed the reporting requirement, however, as noted in the excerpt above, companies may voluntarily submit a report.