How a FINTRAC examination works
FINTRAC's assessment manual describes three phases: planning and scoping, examination and assessment, and drawing conclusions and closing out. Examinations can be done remotely (a desk examination) or at your place of business (an on-site examination).
It usually starts with a call to your compliance officer, confirmed in a notification letter. The letter is FINTRAC's formal request for information: your compliance program documents and, where relevant, lists of transactions and records. FINTRAC treats the notification call as the start of the examination.
Why the notification date matters
Anything not reported or corrected before the notification date can count against you. A report filed after that date, for example, is treated as not having been filed when it was required. The time to fix your reporting is before FINTRAC calls, which is why a regular effectiveness review matters.
What to do first
- Read the letter carefully and note every deadline. Missing them is itself a risk.
- Gather your compliance program: policies and procedures, risk assessment, training program and records, and your last effectiveness review and its report to a senior officer.
- Pull the records requested, completely and in the format asked for.
- Brief the people involved, especially your compliance officer and anyone FINTRAC may interview.
- Be accurate. Don't create documents after the fact to fill gaps; explain what exists and what you're fixing.
After the examination
FINTRAC may send a findings letter to your compliance officer, covering the findings discussed at the exit meeting and listing deficient records. The outcome can be no further action, follow-up, a recommended enforcement action, or a notice of violation with a penalty. If an action plan is requested, it's typically due within 30 calendar days.
Administrative monetary penalties aren't automatic. FINTRAC considers the nature and extent of the problem, its root cause, mitigating and aggravating factors, and your compliance history. If you receive a notice of violation, you can make written representations within 30 days. FINTRAC publishes certain penalties on its website.
Preparing before FINTRAC calls
- Keep your program current and approved by a senior officer.
- Make sure every reportable transaction has been reported, and late reports are dealt with.
- Keep training records and your last effectiveness review ready to send.
- Close the findings from your last review or examination.
An outsourced compliance officer can keep this in order between examinations.
Sources: FINTRAC assessment manual; FINTRAC examinations: what to expect; Administrative monetary penalties policy; Public notices of penalties. Checked 11 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.