Policy On No-Action Letters and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) is revising its initial Policy on No-Action Letters (“NAL”) (“2016 Policy”). A NAL is an exercise of the Bureau’s discretionary authority not to make a supervisory finding or not bring a supervisory or enforcement action in the face of statutory or regulatory uncertainty with respect to a product or service. The revised Policy (“NAL Policy”) will govern the process for persons to apply for Bureau NALs in connection with proposed conduct, subject to specified conditions and limitations. Issuance of NALs under this Policy will be discretionary on the part of the Bureau. The information will be collected from persons, primarily businesses or other for-profit entities, who apply for NALs from the Bureau. The information will be used by the Bureau to determine whether issuance of a NAL is warranted. The Bureau is also finalizing its Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy (“CASP”). The CASP will govern the process for persons to apply for Bureau statutory “approvals,” subject to specified conditions and limitations. Approvals pursuant to this policy are offered to a regulated entity that confronts statutory or regulatory uncertainty with the binding assurance from Bureau that specific aspects of a product or service are compliant with specified legal provisions. Issuance of approvals will be discretionary on the part of the Bureau. The information will be collected from persons, primarily businesses or other for-profit entities, who apply for approvals from the Bureau. The information will be used by the Bureau to determine whether issuance of an approval is warranted.

The latest form for Policy On No-Action Letters and Compliance Assistance Sandbox Policy expires 2022-09-30 and can be found here.