FINTRAC identification form for real estate: field by field
A FINTRAC identification record for an individual real estate client has four parts: the information record (name, address, date of birth and occupation), the details of how you verified identity, which depend on the method, the third party determination, and the business relationship and PEP checks. Keep the information record five years from the last transaction.
Every brokerage has its own FINTRAC form. Filling it in from habit holds up until a client texts a photo of their licence, a buyer’s parent is paying, or nobody remembers what the occupation box is for. Here’s each part of the record and where it comes from in FINTRAC’s guidance for real estate brokers and sales representatives. Your brokerage’s form and compliance officer have the final word.
Who needs a record
FINTRAC says you must verify client identity when you act as an agent in the purchase or sale of real estate. You keep an information record on every person or entity you act for, one for each client when there’s more than one on the deal. You also keep an information record on any party to the transaction who isn’t represented by a broker or sales representative. FINTRAC says you must verify the identity of every person an information record is kept on. How your brokerage handles an unrepresented buyer or seller in practice is a question for your compliance officer.
Part 1: the information record
For a client who is a person, FINTRAC lists four items. A corporation’s record is different, so this post sticks to individuals.
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Name | The person’s name, as it appears on the ID you verify against. |
| Address | The person’s address. |
| Date of birth | The person’s date of birth. A credit file or dual-process source is matched against it. |
| Occupation | Their occupation. For a sole proprietor, the nature of their principal business instead. |
Part 2: how you verified identity
What you write down here depends on the method. FINTRAC’s methods page has three that work for a person on their own, plus reliance and agent methods that need a written agreement in place first.
| Method | What it takes | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Government-issued photo ID | Issued by a federal, provincial or territorial government, or a foreign equivalent, with the person’s name, photo and a unique number. Authentic, valid and not expired when you verify. Municipal photo ID doesn’t count. | Name, date verified, document type, document number, jurisdiction and country of issue, expiry date if there is one. |
| Credit file | From a Canadian credit bureau or an authorized third-party vendor, at least three years old, drawn from more than one tradeline, matching name, address and date of birth. Searched when you verify, never a copy the client hands you. | Name, date consulted, the bureau or vendor, the credit file number. |
| Dual-process | Two different reliable sources confirming two of: name and address, name and date of birth, or name and a deposit, prepaid, credit card or loan account. | Name, date verified, each source’s name, the type of information, the account or reference numbers. |
In person, the photo ID method means examining the original and its security features with the person there. Remotely, FINTRAC wants technology that authenticates the document and a way to match the person to the photo, such as a live video chat or a selfie compared by facial recognition. Viewing a person and their ID over a video conference isn’t enough.
A photo of a licence your client sends you doesn’t meet the photo ID method on its own. Under the dual-process method, FINTRAC does accept a fax, photocopy, scan or electronic image of a government-issued photo ID as one of the two pieces of information, with a second, separate source for the other. Neither the client nor you can be a source, social media can’t either, and a truncated account number doesn’t count.
Part 3: the third party determination
At the time you create the information record, you determine whether the client is acting on behalf of a third party: a person or entity that instructs them, or for whom the transaction is really happening. If there is one, record:
- •Their name, address and telephone number.
- •For a person, their date of birth and occupation, or for a sole proprietor, the nature of their principal business.
- •For an entity, the nature of its principal business and its registration or incorporation number, with the jurisdiction and country of issue.
- •The relationship between the third party and your client.
If you can’t determine it but have reasonable grounds to suspect a third party, record why, and whether your client says they’re acting on their own behalf only.
Part 4: the business relationship and PEP check
For real estate, FINTRAC says you enter a business relationship with a client the first time you’re required to verify their identity. That adds two items. The first is a record of the purpose and intended nature of the relationship, and FINTRAC’s examples for the sector include buying or selling residential property. The second is reasonable measures to determine whether the client is a politically exposed person (PEP), the head of an international organization (HIO), or a family member or close associate of one.
When the answer is yes, what follows depends on whether the PEP is foreign or domestic and on your brokerage’s risk assessment, and the record holds the office or position, the date of the determination and, where known, the source of wealth. Separately, receiving $100,000 or more in cash, or virtual currency of that value, calls for a PEP determination within 30 days. Some cases also need a senior management review, which your compliance officer runs.
How long to keep it
Keep the information record five years from the day of the last business transaction. The third party, business relationship and PEP records are kept at least five years from the day they were created. All of them have to be ready for FINTRAC within 30 days of a request.
Frequently asked questions
Can I verify identity from a photo of the ID that my client texts me?
Not under the photo ID method on its own, which needs the original examined in person or authenticated remotely. Under the dual-process method, an image of a government photo ID can be one of the two pieces of information.
Do I need a record for an unrepresented buyer or seller?
Yes. FINTRAC’s record keeping guidance for real estate requires an information record on any party to the transaction not represented by a broker or sales representative. Ask your compliance officer how your brokerage handles verifying that party.
How long do I keep FINTRAC identification records?
The information record is kept five years from the day of the last business transaction. Third party, business relationship and PEP records are kept at least five years from when they were created, and every record must be producible within 30 days of a FINTRAC request.
How Listing Launchpad handles FINTRAC client records
Listing Launchpad has a client intake link built for the collecting half of this job. Your client fills it in on their phone, and what they submit is kept with their record.
- •The information record: the form asks for legal first and last name, date of birth, home address, occupation and employer, so the four fields FINTRAC lists arrive typed by the client.
- •The PEP and HIO question: it’s a required answer on the form, with domestic PEP, foreign PEP and HIO choices that each cover family members and close associates, plus None of the above.
- •The ID details you write down: the client photographs the front and back of their driver’s licence or photo card, AI reads the document number and expiry date, and the record warns you when the ID has expired or expires within three months.
- •The licence photo in your texts: the photos go to private storage only you can open, and never appear in the seller’s portal, the Property Vault or a public page.
It doesn’t verify identity. Checking the ID against the person, recording the method and date, the third party determination and keeping records for FINTRAC’s period stay with you and your brokerage. The intake link is included on every plan, Free included.
Robert Cekan is a REALTOR® in Hamilton, Ontario, the publisher of Urbanicity Hamilton, and the founder of Listing Launchpad. The playbooks here come from running real listings.