CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) implementing regulations and the Interagency Questions and Answers Regarding Community Reinvestment (Q&As) provide definitions and information for determining whether a loan, investment or service qualifies for credit in a bank’s CRA examination. If you represent a bank or other interested party that is a stakeholder in a bank-related activity that you believe qualifies under CRA, you may use this form to request the OCC's review to verify qualification. This form is designed to accept information on only one activity. Confirmation of an activity for CRA purposes is not a determination of legal permissibility, and the OCC reserves the right to separately determine whether an activity is legally permissible. If you represent a financial institution, you must ensure that the activity is legally permissible before engaging in it. You must submit a separate form for each activity for the OCC's review.

1) Before You Submit a Request

For activities conducted between October 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021 – Review the CRA Illustrative List of Qualifying Activities (PDF) and find the example that best describes the activity.
The list is not exhaustive and does not include every possible example of a qualifying activity.
If you find an example that is similar to your activity and the activity was conducted during the period beginning October 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021, you do not need to submit this form.
If you do not find an example that is similar to your activity, or if the activity was conducted prior to October 1, 2020, or after December 31, 2021, you may submit this request.

2) Completing The Form

When completing the form, indicate whether the activity was conducted under the 2020 Rule (activity conducted 10/01/2020 through 12/31/2021) or under the 2021 Rule (activity conducted before 10/01/2020 or after 12/31/2021).
If the activity was conducted on or after 10/01/2020 and on or before 12/31/2021, indicate whether or not the CRA Illustrative List of Qualifying Activities (PDF) of Qualifying Activities contains a similar example and, if so, provide the reference number.
In all cases, indicate whether the review is requested by or on behalf of a national bank or federal savings association (OCC bank), or another interested party. If an OCC bank requests the review, please provide the OCC charter number(s) and official bank name. Otherwise, provide the name of the interested party requesting the review.
Please provide a brief description of the activity where indicated in the form that the OCC could use as the example for the CRA Illustrative List of Qualifying Activities (PDF) of Qualifying Activities. You may provide additional supporting information to supplement a submission.
Provide supporting information about the activity that the OCC may use to determine whether the activity qualifies. You may provide a detailed description of the activity, relevant internet references, or any other information that demonstrates that the activity qualifies. You may attach your documents, subject to size and content restrictions.
Banks may designate information as confidential or request confidential treatment. The OCC will treat confidential commercial information submitted to the agency in accordance with 12 CFR 4.16 consistent with Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, 139 S.Ct. 2356, 2363 (2019), and applicable guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Justice. Please indicate if any of the information contained in this request (on the form or in attachments) should be considered confidential material.
Please indicate if this request is similar or related to another activity you have previously submitted to the OCC for review. Please provide the previous request submission number(s) in the space provided on the form.
Provide all relevant contact information
- Your complete name.
- Your organization name.
- A phone number where we can reach you.
- Your email address.
- A complete postal mailing address, if the submission is made by postal mail.

3) How to Submit Your Request by Email

To submit your CRA Qualifying Activity Confirmation Request by email:

Open and save the fillable form before entering any information.
- Click the "Open Confirmation Request Form" button below.
- Save the form to your computer. Do not save the form by selecting the "Print" or "Save As" options. Download the form directly to your desktop, or click on the Save File icon, or select File, then Save from the menu bar, or type Ctrl+S to save the form to your desktop. This is necessary in order for our system to capture the information in the form.
  - How to Distinguish a PDF Form From a PDF Document
- Open the form from the saved location. This is the form that can be filled out on your computer.
Complete the form electronically.
Include all relevant supporting documentation as attachments where indicated in the submission form to facilitate the OCC's determination.
Complete the required fields before submitting the form.
Save the completed form and email to AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov.
Submit a separate form for each activity you choose to submit for the OCC's review. The OCC will review and determine qualification of one activity per form.
Do not submit more than one form per email, and do not include separate attachments in the email. Attachments must be added where indicated in the form.
Please validate your answers before submitting the form. This will help ensure you have provided the information required for the OCC to process your confirmation request. After clicking on the “Validate” button below, review the form and you will find that required fields are now shaded. Note that changing or adding some information may change the information that may be required, so validate your answers and review the form again for any changes you make. If all required information has been provided, you will be prompted to save the form.

Open Confirmation Request Form

Send the completed form to the following email address: AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov.

Click link to automatically generate email, copy, and paste the link in the To: field in a draft email, or type "AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov" in the To: field.
Do not submit more than one form per email.
Verify that the document type is "Adobe Acrobat Forms Document."
- How to Distinguish a PDF Form From a PDF Document
Do not include separate attachments in the email. Attachments must be added where indicated in the form. Please attach all relevant supporting documentation to facilitate the OCC's determination.
Before sending, verify that you typed this address in the To: line: AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov.

The OCC considers forms received when they are received and processed by the OCC's Qualifying Activities Submission processing unit.

If you submit the request by email, do not also submit copies by postal mail.

4) How to Submit Your Request by Postal Mail

Alternatively, you may download or print the CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request Form and submit the completed form by mail, with copies of all relevant supporting documentation to facilitate the OCC's determination, to the following address:

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Attention: Compliance Risk Policy, QA Submission Processing Unit
400 7th St. SW
Washington, DC 20219

Forms sent via postal mail may delay receipt and processing of your request. The OCC considers forms received when they are received and processed by the OCC's Qualifying Activities Submission processing unit.

If you submit the request by postal mail, do not also submit copies by email.

5) Questions About Request Submissions

Email us with questions at QAConfirmationRequest@occ.treas.gov or call us at (202) 649-5470.

6) What Happens After You Submit Your Request?

Confirmation of Your Request

The OCC will confirm receipt of your emailed or mailed request to review the activity described in the CRA Qualifying Activities Confirmation Request Form and provide an identification number (ID) unique to your submission.
Forms are considered received during regular business hours Monday through Friday (excluding federal holidays), between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm ET.
We will send confirmation of receipt of an emailed submission within 24 hours to the email address that you provide in the form or within 24 hours of receipt in the mail to the mailing address that you provide in the form.
If you encounter difficulties submitting the form via email, or do not receive confirmation within 24 hours, please verify that you submitted a saved PDF, not a printed PDF, to the correct email address: AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov (if typed, "AEMProcess_PROD@occ.treas.gov").
- How to Distinguish a PDF Form From a PDF Document
If you continue to encounter difficulties submitting the form via email, please contact us at QAConfirmationRequest@occ.treas.gov or (202) 649-5470. Please provide the following information in your message:

Name, Title (if applicable), Organization Name.
Contact information: email address and phone number.
Indicate that the request refers to a "CRA Qualifying Activity Confirmation Request," using those exact words.
Submission confirmation number and submission date, if you already submitted a request:
1. If you previously submitted a request but did not receive a submission confirmation number within 24 hours, your submission was not properly received by the system. Please:
  1. Verify the email address used to submit the form.
  2. Verify the form submitted was a PDF form, not a PDF document.
  3. If both of the above were correct, please contact us directly at (202) 649-5470 or QAConfirmationRequest@occ.treas.gov.

How to Distinguish a PDF Form From a PDF Document

Find the form that you saved to your computer. Right-click on the icon to see the dropdown menu.
Click on Properties.
Click on the Details tab.
Review the Type field:
1. A properly downloaded or saved form will display the Type as "Adobe Acrobat Forms Document," the machine-readable format that can be submitted to the QA Confirmation Request system.
2. A PDF document, saved by printing to PDF or using "Save As" will display the Type as "Adobe Acrobat Document," a non-machine-readable format that cannot be submitted to the QA Confirmation Request system.

If the form submitted was a PDF document, you will need to return to the original online form. If you have not downloaded or saved a copy in the "Adobe Acrobat Forms Document" format, you may need to recomplete the form. Resubmit the request using the Adobe Acrobat Forms Document type.

Do not save the form by selecting the "Print" or "Save As" options. Download the form directly to your desktop, or click on the "Save File" icon, or select "File," then select "Save" from the menu bar, or type Ctrl+S to save the form to your desktop. This is necessary in order for our system to capture the information in the form.