Signature or other authority over a foreign account

The FBAR requirement covers a U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, a foreign financial account.⁠^{[1]Source 1} The two relationships are reported differently.⁠^{[2]Source 2}

Financial interest

Broadly, being the owner of record or holder of legal title, or having an interest through certain agents, entities or trusts.⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[2]Source 2} Owned accounts are reported in Parts II and III of the FBAR.⁠^{[2]Source 2}

Signature or other authority

Control over the disposition of the account’s assets by direct communication to the institution, whether or not you own anything in the account.⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[2]Source 2} Accounts over which you have signature authority but no financial interest are reported in Part IV.⁠^{[2]Source 2}

A person can have both relationships with the same account. Accounts over which you have signature or other authority are included when you work out whether your aggregate value exceeded $10,000.⁠^{[4]Source 4} See how the $10,000 aggregate threshold works.

When FinCEN adopted this wording in 2011, it explained that the test is whether the foreign financial institution will act upon a direct communication from that individual regarding the disposition of assets in the account.⁠^{[3]Source 3} Three parts of the definition carry most of the weight:

• Direct communication. FinCEN added the word “directly” so that the requirement applies to an individual who has the authority to deliver instructions directly to the foreign financial institution.⁠^{[3]Source 3}
• In writing or otherwise. The communication is not limited to a signed paper instruction.⁠^{[1]Source 1}
• Alone or in conjunction with another. FinCEN explains that this covers institutions that require a direct communication from more than one individual to move assets.⁠^{[3]Source 3}

Only individuals can have signature authority; authority attributed to an entity is exercised by individuals.⁠^{[4]Source 4}

IRS examination guidance lists individuals who are not considered to have signature authority:⁠^{[4]Source 4}

• individuals who can only buy or sell investments within the account, with no authority to disburse assets from it;
• individuals with supervisory authority over the people who communicate with the institution maintaining the account. The IRS adds that FinCEN clarified that approving a disbursement that a subordinate orders is not signature authority.

FinCEN revised its proposed definition after commenters asked whether it would reach someone who merely participates in the decision to allocate assets or can instruct or supervise others with signature authority.⁠^{[3]Source 3}

Points toward authority: the institution identifies you individually and will act on your instruction or approval to move assets, alone or as one of the approvals it requires. Because the communication can be “in writing or otherwise”, an authenticated approval through the bank’s own online banking can be such a communication.⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[3]Source 3}

Points away from authority: you can only view balances or download statements; you can prepare a payment but someone else releases it to the bank; or your approval happens only inside your employer’s internal systems and the bank never receives or relies on it. In each case the institution is not acting on a communication from you.⁠^{[3]Source 3}⁠^{[4]Source 4}

Fact-specific: automated connections such as bank APIs, host-to-host links or a central payment factory, where it is unclear whether an individual’s action forms part of the instruction the institution acts on. These set-ups do not fit a one-line rule.

Facts that usually matter:

• Does the institution identify you individually, for example by your own credentials or mandate?
• Does your authorization reach the institution, and does it rely on it before moving assets?
• Can your authorization work alone, or only together with another person’s?
• Is your action bank-facing, or used only inside your employer’s internal workflow?
• Are you limited to viewing, preparing, or buying and selling investments within the account?

An individual reporting only signature authority still files as an individual on the FBAR.⁠^{[7]Source 7} For each account, Part IV asks for the account information, the account owner’s name, taxpayer identification number and address, and the filer’s title in the position that gives the signature authority.⁠^{[2]Source 2}

• A U.S. person who lives outside the United States, is an officer or employee of an employer located outside the United States, and has signature authority over that employer’s foreign account completes only Part I and the employer information in Part IV, once.⁠^{[2]Source 2}⁠^{[4]Source 4}
• Someone with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, 25 or more foreign accounts gives the number of accounts and the account-owner information instead of the details of each account.⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[2]Source 2}
• An officer or employee who files to report signature authority over an employer’s foreign account is not required to personally keep records on those accounts; the IRS says the employer must keep them.⁠^{[2]Source 2}⁠^{[5]Source 5}

The regulation requires reporting for each year in which the relationship exists.⁠^{[1]Source 1} If a filing is required, see how to file an FBAR yourself for the submission and recordkeeping sequence.

An officer or employee who has signature authority over, but no financial interest in, a foreign account does not need to report that authority in these situations:⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[2]Source 2}

• accounts owned or maintained by a bank examined by the OCC, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Office of Thrift Supervision or the NCUA, where the person is an officer or employee of that bank;
• accounts owned or maintained by a financial institution registered with and examined by the SEC or the CFTC, where the person is an officer or employee of that institution;
• accounts of an SEC-registered investment company, where the person is an officer or employee of an Authorized Service Provider to it;
• accounts of an entity with equity securities (or American depository receipts) listed on a U.S. national securities exchange, where the person is an officer or employee of that entity;
• accounts of a U.S. subsidiary of such a listed U.S. entity, where the person is an officer or employee of the subsidiary and the subsidiary is included in the parent’s consolidated FBAR;
• accounts of an entity with equity securities (or American depository receipts) registered under section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act, where the person is an officer or employee of that entity.

Each exception depends on the type of entity and on the person having no financial interest in the account. The full conditions are in the regulation and the Form 114 instructions.⁠^{[1]Source 1}⁠^{[2]Source 2}

Since 2011, FinCEN has repeatedly extended the FBAR due date for certain individuals with signature authority over, but no financial interest in, foreign financial accounts, while it considers proposed changes to the exemptions.⁠^{[4]Source 4}⁠^{[6]Source 6} The extension applies only to the individuals described in those notices, not to everyone with signature authority.⁠^{[5]Source 5}⁠^{[6]Source 6}

FinCEN’s notice of December 8, 2025 (FIN-2025-NTC3) extends the due date to April 15, 2027 for the individuals whose due date for reporting signature authority was extended by the previous notice, covering signature authority held during calendar year 2025 and the earlier years already extended. For all other individuals with an FBAR filing obligation for 2025, the due date remains April 15, 2026.⁠^{[6]Source 6} Check FinCEN’s current notices for later years.