FARA Compliance and Diligence: The Pre-Engagement Framework

Effective FARA compliance starts before an engagement is signed, not after a filing is due. A standing pre-engagement diligence checklist paired with a clear read on 18 U.S.C. § 951, the criminal statute that sits alongside FARA's disclosure regime, is the highest-leverage institutional practice available to any firm doing foreign-principal work. This page combines both: the diligence workflow to run before signing, and the statute that raises the stakes when a foreign government, not just a foreign principal, is involved.

Part of EPR's FARA guide, the index to EPR's coverage of the statute, enforcement, filing mechanics, reputation and country lobbying maps. Updated November 1, 2026.

1. How Does 18 U.S.C. § 951 Differ From FARA?
2. Which Cases Shaped the Modern 951 Environment?
3. What Does a Pre-Engagement Diligence Checklist Cover?
4. What Should Firms Do Now?
5. Frequently asked questions

How Does 18 U.S.C. § 951 Differ From FARA?

18 U.S.C. § 951 prohibits acting in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General. The statute is narrower than FARA in some respects and broader in others, and counsel review of both is appropriate for any engagement involving foreign government activity. For the disclosure regime 951 sits alongside, see FARA Explained: what FARA requires.

The core distinctions:

• FARA covers agents of foreign principals, a broad category that includes governments, parties, and other foreign entities.
• 951 specifically covers agents of foreign governments.
• FARA is structured primarily as a disclosure regime.
• 951 is structured as a criminal prohibition.

Which Cases Shaped the Modern 951 Environment?

Maria Butina's 2018 case, Tom Barrack's prosecution (acquitted at trial), and several other prosecutions have established that 951 can apply where FARA alone may not capture the full scope of conduct. 951 cases tend to draw counterintelligence-framed coverage rather than disclosure-framed coverage, and the reputational consequences are typically more severe and more durable than FARA-only matters. On how reporters work these filings, see How Journalists Use FARA Filings. For the Justice Department's September 2026 reminder on both statutes, see the DOJ FARA warning for PR firms.

What Does a Pre-Engagement Diligence Checklist Cover?

A standing pre-engagement diligence checklist is the highest-leverage institutional document in foreign-principal work. The checklist below identifies the elements current operating practice supports. Items marked with an asterisk require qualified U.S. counsel review.

Principal identification

• Legal identity documented
• Ownership and control structure documented*
• Government or party affiliation documented*
• Related entities identified*
• OFAC, EU, UN, UK sanctions screening completed*
• Adverse media review completed
• Prior FARA filings identified

Engagement scope

• Activities described in writing
• Activities classified under FARA*
• Activities classified under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA)*
• Commercial exception analysis documented*
• LDA Section 3(h) exemption analysis documented*
• 18 U.S.C. § 951 analysis documented*
• ITAR, EAR, CFIUS implications reviewed*

Registration determination

• FARA requirement: yes, no, or advisable voluntarily*
• LDA requirement: yes or no*
• Analysis documented in writing and signed by counsel*
• Registration timeline plan established

Compensation

• Fee structure documented
• Source of payment documented*
• Payment routing documented*

Country profile review

• Attention environment assessed
• Communications infrastructure requirements scaled

Communications plan

• Owned content strategy
• Earned media plan
• Validator strategy
• AI visibility plan
• Crisis response infrastructure

Subcontractor review

• Subcontractors identified
• Sub-agent FARA requirements reviewed*
• Subcontractor compliance documented*

Documentation

• Engagement letter with compliance representations
• Pre-engagement memo completed and signed
• Communications strategy memo
• Country profile memo
• Internal file established

Review cadence

• 30-day post-signing review
• 90-day strategic review
• Six-month supplemental review, if FARA-registered
• Annual engagement review
• Material change triggers documented

What Should Firms Do Now?

Adopt a standing checklist as a non-negotiable institutional practice, and confirm pre-engagement memos for foreign government work address both FARA and 18 U.S.C. § 951 explicitly. Document every analysis. Pre-engagement diligence is communications infrastructure as much as legal infrastructure. Firms weighing whether a close FARA call should be filed anyway should remember that a documented decision not to register is itself part of the diligence record.

The diligence habits that hold up under scrutiny share a common thread: they assume every document produced during an engagement, from the pre-engagement memo to the sixth supplemental statement, will eventually be read by a journalist or an opposing party. Firms that write for that audience from the outset spend far less time on cleanup later. That discipline extends to how a firm handles scrutiny once it arrives, not only how it prepares beforehand, and to the country-level pattern recognition that experienced FARA counsel bring to a new engagement before the first filing is even drafted.

Related: FARA Explained: Law, Case Files and Country Lobbying Maps · How Journalists Use FARA Filings · DOJ FARA Warning: What It Means for PR Firms