IMPORTANT UPDATE FOR REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS: Reporting Obligations Under FinCEN’s Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule Have Been Suspended

Matthew C. Christoph, mchristoph@tuckerlaw.com, (412) 594-5503

On March 19, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, vacated the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations for Residential Real Estate Transfers (the “Reporting Rule”), issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) under the U.S. Treasury Department. The Reporting Rule had gone into effect March 1, 2026.[1]

In an alert posted to its website, FinCEN states, “In light of a federal court decision, reporting persons are not currently required to file real estate reports with FinCEN and are not subject to liability if they fail to do so while the order remains in force.“[2]

In the matter of Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent, the federal district court found that FinCEN lacked proper authority under the Bank Secrecy Act to require the reporting mandated under the Reporting Rule. The court granted the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and vacated and set aside the Reporting Rule.[3]

It remains to be seen how FinCEN will respond and if an appeal will be filed, and if the vacated Reporting Rule could eventually be reinstated (whether as written or in a modified form) or will be permanently vacated and set aside. For now, the effect of the order from the Eastern District of Texas is an indefinite pause on these reporting obligations for closing and settlement agents, title companies, and other real estate professionals and practitioners. While the preparation and submission of Real Estate Reports to FinCEN can be temporarily paused, however, real estate professionals should stay tuned for further developments and be ready to resume processes or systems for compliance if the Reporting Rule does come back into effect.      

For questions about how this decision may affect your reporting obligations or real estate transactions, please contact Matthew Christoph at (412) 594-5503 or mchristoph@tuckerlaw.com.

[1] See 31 C.F.R. § 1031.320.

[2] Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Residential Real Estate Rule, https://www.fincen.gov/rre (last visited Mar. 24, 2026).

[3] Flowers Title Cos., LLC v. Bessent, No. 6:25-cv-127, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57418, at

*21 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 19, 2026).