---
kind: "section"
citation: "31 U.S.C. § 5333"
title: "31"
title_heading: "Money and Finance"
number: "5333"
heading: "Safe harbor with respect to keep open directives"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/31/5333"
units:
  - "Subtitle IV — Money"
  - "Chapter 53 — Monetary Transactions"
  - "Subchapter II — Records and Reports on Monetary Instruments Transactions"
---

# §5333. Safe harbor with respect to keep open directives

- (a) **In General.—** With respect to a customer account or customer transaction of a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2), if a Federal law enforcement agency, after notifying FinCEN of the intent to submit a written request to the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) that the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) keep that account or transaction open (referred to in this section as a “keep open request”), or if a State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency with the concurrence of FinCEN submits a keep open request—
  - (1) the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) shall not be liable under this subchapter for maintaining that account or transaction consistent with the parameters and timing of the request; and
  - (2) no Federal or State department or agency may take any adverse supervisory action under this subchapter with respect to the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) solely for maintaining that account or transaction consistent with the parameters of the request.
- (b) **Rule of Construction.—** Nothing in this section may be construed—
  - (1) to prevent a Federal or State department or agency from verifying the validity of a keep open request submitted under [subsection (a)](#a) with the law enforcement agency submitting that request;
  - (2) to relieve a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) from complying with any reporting requirements or any other provisions of this subchapter, including the reporting of suspicious transactions under [section 5318(g)](/usc/31/5318.md?p=g); or
  - (3) to extend the safe harbor described in [subsection (a)](#a) to any actions taken by the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2)—
    - (A) before the date of the keep open request to maintain a customer account; or
    - (B) after the termination date stated in the keep open request.
- (c) **Letter Termination Date.—** For the purposes of this section, any keep open request submitted under [subsection (a)](#a) shall include a termination date after which that request shall no longer apply.
- (d) **Record Keeping.—** Any Federal, State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agency that submits to a [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) a keep open request shall, not later than 2 business days after the date on which the request is submitted to the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2)—
  - (1) submit to FinCEN a copy of the request; and
  - (2) alert FinCEN as to whether the [financial institution](/usc/31/5312.md?p=a-2) has implemented the request.
- (e) **Guidance.—** The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, shall issue guidance on the required elements of a keep open request.

## Source credit

(Added Pub. L. 116–283, div. F, title LXIII, § 6306(a)(1), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4588.)