

Please refer to the Information for Applicants page to find BitLicense application instructions and fee information.
In accordance with Section 206 of the New York State Financial Services Law, persons regulated under the Banking and Insurance Laws shall be assessed by the superintendent for the operating expenses of the department. These operating expenses include regulation and supervision (including examination) of regulated entities. In April 2022, the New York State Legislature amended Section 206 to direct the Superintendent to assess entities regulated under the Financial Services Law that engage in “virtual currency business activity” in keeping with the assessment framework already in effect for entities regulated under the Banking and Insurance Laws. On April 17th, 2023, Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris announced the adoption of 23 NYCRR Part 102, which established the process for how licensed virtual currency businesses would be assessed for costs of their supervision and examination.
The New York State fiscal year begins April 1 and ends March 31.
Each institution is billed five times for a fiscal year: four estimated quarterly assessments (approximately 25% of the annual amount) based on the Virtual Currency Unit’s estimated annual budget at the time of the billing, and a final assessment, or true-up, based on the Virtual Currency Unit’s actual expenses for the fiscal year. Any institution that is a Regulated Entity for any part of a quarter shall be assessed for the full quarter.
If an institution’s estimated quarterly payments exceed their final annual assessed amount, the overpayment shall be applied against the next estimated quarterly assessment, if less than or equal to such amount, with any excess refunded. If the quarterly estimated charges are less than the final annual assessed amount, the institution will be billed the difference.
First quarter billing is based on the Virtual Currency Unit’s annual budget. The second through fourth quarter bills are adjusted to reflect the best estimate of actual annual expenses during the course of the fiscal year, so that the final bill or refund is minimized.
Billing schedule is as given below. Payment is due 30 days from billing date.
F/Y April 1 to March 31 |
Estimated Billing Date |
Estimated Due Date |
Period Covered |
---|---|---|---|
1st Quarter |
February 5 |
March 5 |
April 1 to June 30 |
2nd Quarter |
May 5 |
June 5 |
July 1 to September 30 |
3rd Quarter |
August 5 |
September 5 |
October 1 to December 31 |
4th Quarter |
November 5 |
December 5 |
January 1 to March 31 |
Final* |
December 5 |
January 5 |
April 1 to March 31 |
*Estimated billing date - Final expenses determined in October each year. |
The following terms are defined in 23 NYCRR Part 102 for the purposes of calculating assessments for BitLicensees:
Estimated Quarterly Bills – Each quarter, the first step is to compute the estimated annual amount
The estimated annual amount is the sum of the Supervisory Component and the Regulatory Component. The Supervisory Component is computed by combining the Custody Basis Assessment and the Transaction Volume Basis Assessment.
The Basis Hours and Hourly Rate are established in January, prior to the first quarter (February 5) billing, and remain the same throughout the fiscal year.
The Regulatory Component is the total operating cost less the Supervisory Component divided equally among the licensees.
Once the estimated annual amount is determined, the quarterly bills are computed as follows:
New Licensees are billed based on their Custody and/or Transaction Basis amounts in the prior year. They are not billed for activity prior to their license becoming effective.
Newly licensed entities in the fiscal year are only charged for the Regulatory Component
Submit changes to the main point of contact for assessment billing matters to [email protected].
Payment Options: In addition to mailing a check, electronic payments may be initiated by the institution using the Department’s secure online portal DFS ePay. The steps to sign up for DFS ePay are provided below.
Failure to Pay: Payment must be received in the Office of Financial Management in Albany by the due date. Failure to pay will result in additional penalties, interest and regulatory action described on the bill and accompanying letter
The General Assessment is the mechanism for billing regulated industries to collect the operating funds of the New York State Department of Financial Services. The statutory authority for the General Assessment is derived from Section 206 of the New York State Financial Services Law.
General Assessment is billed in four quarterly estimated bills. Once the fiscal year is closed, a Final Assessment is computed. This generally occurs in December of the following fiscal year. At that time, the Final Assessment for each institution is calculated, estimated billings are subtracted, and the amount due the Department or credit due the institution is identified. Our goal is to make the estimated bills very close to the final assessment amount so there is a small amount due or refunded.
The Department’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31 and the General Assessment is billed in advance each quarter. Bills are mailed at least 30 days before the due date and are due for payment 30 days after the invoice date. Interest is added for late payment of an assessment. Bills deemed uncollectible are subject to collection by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, or, for some institutions, the Department will collect against the institution’s surety bond or pledged asset.
Payment is accepted by check, money order, bank check, or through our secure online payment portal DFS ePay. Payments can be made either quarterly or pre-paid annually.
After every quarterly billing, a chart is posted on this page that shows how bills were computed. It will show the number of institutions in each category and how the Department computed supervisory and regulatory amounts.
The assessment is based on the financial basis as of December 31 of the year prior to the start of the current fiscal year on file with the Department. This allows for a stable financial basis providing relative size information for all institutions within each industry and minimizes fluctuation in bills from quarter to quarter. For the first quarter bill, however, DFS uses the prior year’s basis for institutions that file an annual report and uses the basis as of September 30 of the previous year. For the second through fourth quarter and final assessment, DFS updates to the basis as of December 31 of the year prior to the start of the fiscal year. The December 31 data is the final basis for the full fiscal year.