Money Services Business
How to Verify an MSB Registration
Banks, partners, and customers all end up asking the same question: is this money services business actually registered? FinCEN publishes a free public search that answers it in seconds, and NMLS Consumer Access covers the state license side. Here is how to run both checks and read the results.
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Money Services Business
How do I verify that a business is a registered MSB?
Use FinCEN's free public MSB Registrant Search at fincen.gov to verify an MSB registration: search by the company's legal name, state, or MSB activity, and the results show registered money services businesses with their registration number and the services they registered for. The registry is updated regularly from accepted Form 107 filings. Remember what the listing proves: federal registration is a notice filing, not a license, so a company can appear in the FinCEN registry and still lack the state money transmitter licenses it needs. Check the state layer separately through NMLS Consumer Access, which lists each state license a company holds.
- Is There a Public List of Registered Money Services Businesses?
- Yes. FinCEN's MSB Registrant Search on fincen.gov is a free public database of all money services businesses with accepted registrations. It is searchable by name, state, and MSB activity, and each listing shows the registration number and registered services.
- Does Appearing in the FinCEN Registry Mean a Company Is Licensed?
- No. The registry only shows that the company filed its federal MSB registration, which is a notice filing with no approval step. State money transmitter licenses are separate operating authority and are verified through NMLS Consumer Access. A company can be federally registered and still be transmitting without required state licenses.
Money transmitter licensing by the numbers
- US jurisdictions require a money transmitter license
- 51 of 52 US jurisdictions require a money transmitter license Source: state regulator statutes compiled in our state-law index, verified July 2026. Money transmitter license state laws
- statutory surety bond range across licensing states
- $10,000 to $500,000 statutory surety bond range across licensing states Source: state regulator statutes compiled in our state-law index, verified July 2026. Money transmitter license state laws
The Cornerstone Way
A repeatable method, from first filing to every renewal
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Anyone can list five steps. Here is what makes ours hold up.
The shortcut
The common approach is to scrape the web for an answer and hope it is current. When the rules change, or the page was wrong to begin with, the mistake surfaces as a deficiency after the filing is in, when it costs the most time.
The Cornerstone Way
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Specialists who know the answer
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Living internal checklists
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Two Public Databases, One Complete Answer
A monetary service business in the United States sits under two layers of oversight, and each layer has its own public lookup. FinCEN's MSB Registrant Search shows whether a company holds a current federal MSB registration. NMLS Consumer Access shows which state money transmitter licenses the company holds. A business that checks out in both places is registered and licensed; a business that appears in neither is a red flag. This guide walks through both searches, what each result actually proves, and what to do with a gap.
Using the FinCEN MSB Registration Search
FinCEN publishes the MSB Registrant Search on fincen.gov as a free public database of every money services business with an accepted registration. No account is needed.
Search by name, state, or activity
Look up the company's legal name or trade name, narrow by state, or browse by MSB activity such as money transmission, check cashing, or foreign exchange dealing. Search the legal entity name if the brand name returns nothing; many MSBs register under a parent entity.
Read the listing
A result shows the registrant's name, address, registration number, the MSB activities it registered for, and its states of operation. The registration number is the FinCEN number banks ask for during onboarding.
Mind the update lag
The registry is refreshed periodically from accepted filings, so a business that registered very recently may not appear for a short while. A long-operating business that is absent is the real warning sign.
Agents will not appear
A business that operates solely as an agent of a registered MSB does not file its own registration, so a legitimate agent location can be absent from the registry while its principal appears. Ask which principal the agent transmits for and look that company up instead.
What an MSB Registration Listing Does and Does Not Prove
The registry answers one narrow question: did this company file a Form 107 that FinCEN accepted. That matters, but it is routinely over-read.
What it proves: the company identified itself to the Treasury Department as a money services business, which brings it under Bank Secrecy Act obligations. What it does not prove: that the company holds any state money transmitter license, that its AML program works, that a regulator has examined it, or that customer funds are safeguarded. FinCEN registration is a notice filing with no review-and-approval step, so appearing in the registry is a floor, not an endorsement, and FinCEN itself says inclusion is not a recommendation of any listed business.
That is why serious counterparties check both layers. The state license is where bonds, net worth, and examinations live, and it is verified separately.
Verifying State Money Transmitter Licenses on NMLS Consumer Access
NMLS Consumer Access is the free public counterpart for the state layer. Search the company name and the listing shows each state license the company holds through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, its license numbers, and its status. Because nearly every state processes money transmitter licensing through NMLS, this one search covers most of the map.
Reading the result takes the same care as the federal registry: a company can hold licenses in five states and serve customers in forty, so the question is not whether any license appears but whether a license appears for the state where the customer or contract sits. Our state-by-state hub at /mtl-state-laws lists each state's regulator and statute, and /who-needs-a-money-transmitter-license covers which business models need the license in the first place.
If you run diligence on partners regularly, the two lookups pair naturally: FinCEN registry for the federal registration, NMLS for the state licenses, and a follow-up question for any gap between the states served and the states licensed.
What to Do When a Business Does Not Check Out
A verification gap has different meanings depending on which side of it you sit on.
If you are vetting a partner or vendor
Ask the company directly for its FinCEN registration number and its NMLS ID before concluding anything; name mismatches and parent-entity registrations explain many false alarms. A company that cannot produce either is not a partner to move money with.
If your own business is the one missing
An unregistered MSB faces civil penalties that accrue per day and criminal exposure under 18 U.S.C. 1960, and missing state licenses is unlicensed transmission. Register and get a licensing plan moving before a regulator or a bank finds the gap; see /msb-registration and /money-transmitter-license.
If a bank flagged you during onboarding
Banks screen money services customers against the FinCEN registry as standard practice. Provide your registration number and NMLS record, and fix any lapsed renewal immediately; a lapsed registration reads the same as a missing one in bank diligence.
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Money transmitter regulations by state
Money transmitter regulations by state
Where you operate shapes what you file
52 of 52 jurisdictions documented. Pick a state to see the regulator, the license rule, and the bond.
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Stay Ahead of the Rules
Recent rule changes, deadline announcements, and state agency updates we are tracking for you.
- Watch NMLS Jul 30, 2026
NMLS remote work status tracking deadline for MLO records
NMLS directed companies to complete MLO remote-status details by August 31, 2026 in preparation for 2027 renewals. The system change does not make remote work permissible in every state, but it adds a reporting and recordkeeping step for companies using remote work arrangements.
- Action NMLS Jul 30, 2026
Updated MU4 and MU2 disclosure questions in NMLS
NMLS implemented updated MU4 and MU2 disclosure questions effective April 18, 2026. Users were urged to complete updates by August 31, 2026 to avoid blocking filings.
- Action Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner TX Jul 30, 2026
OCCC regulated lender licensing amendments implementing NMLS transition
Texas OCCC adopted broader regulated lender licensing amendments effective through a January 2026 adoption to implement transition to NMLS for regulated lender licenses under Texas Finance Code Chapter 342. The changes affect OCCC-regulated secondary mortgage and home-loan activity rather than SML's primary mortgage regime.
- Action Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner TX Jul 30, 2026
OCCC adoption of RMLO NMLS registration amendments to 7 TAC §2.102
In March 2025, the Texas Finance Commission adopted amendments to 7 TAC §2. 102 tied to RMLO NMLS registration.
- Watch New York Department of Financial Services NY Jul 30, 2026
New York DFS proposed regulation on issuance of payment stablecoins
On June 9, 2026, NYDFS posted a proposed regulation on issuance of payment stablecoins, with comments due June 22, 2026. DFS said the proposal would align New York's stablecoin framework with new federal requirements under the GENIUS Act and would address reserve concentration limits and risk-management programs.
Registered, Licensed, and Provable
We keep our clients' FinCEN registrations and state license portfolios current and documented, so every diligence check comes back clean. Ask us to review your footprint.