If you’re not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and you hold an interest in American farm ground, there is a federal form with your name on it, and it’s due within 90 days. Most people who owe that filing don’t find out from the government. They find out from a broker, an accountant, or a neighbor, and usually later than they’d like.
Here’s what the requirement is, what it isn’t, and what’s about to change.
It’s a reporting law, not a restriction
The statute is the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, on the books since 1978 and usually called AFIDA.
AFIDA does not restrict who can own American farmland. It requires certain foreign holders to tell the federal government what they own. Filing doesn’t ask permission and it doesn’t grant any. It’s a disclosure regime, and that distinction matters, because most of the anxiety we hear from European owners comes from confusing the federal reporting law with state ownership restrictions. Those are two different things, run by two different governments, and we cover the Indiana side separately.
The form, the deadline, and the penalty
The form is FSA-153, filed with the Farm Service Agency county office where the land sits.
It’s due within 90 days of acquiring or transferring the interest. A late or incomplete filing carries a civil penalty that accrues against the fair market value of the land, and the total cannot exceed 25 percent of that value.
Twenty-five percent of fair market value on Indiana row crop ground is not a parking ticket. It’s the reason this post exists.
Whether you owe one is not always obvious
Whether you count as a foreign person for AFIDA purposes depends on how the interest is held, not only on your citizenship. Interests held through entities, trusts, and partnerships are treated differently from interests held individually.
That’s where people get it wrong, in both directions. Some owners assume they’re clear because a U.S. entity holds title. Some assume they owe a filing when they don’t. Both guesses cost something, and neither is necessary. It’s a question with an answer, and an attorney who works in agricultural land can give it to you in one conversation.
We see this most often in inheritance. A farm passes to three children and one of them lives abroad. Nobody involved thinks of that as a foreign investment in American agriculture, and the estate closes, and years later somebody asks a question nobody asked at the time.
What’s pending, and why we’re telling you now
USDA published a proposed rule on June 25, 2026. The public comment period closed on August 10, 2026, no final rule has been issued, and USDA has not announced when one will be.
If it’s adopted as proposed, the rule would change how late penalties accrue, narrow the exemption for short leases, lower the ownership percentage that triggers a filing, and move filings to an online system.
None of that is in effect. We’re flagging it because a rule that lowers the threshold for who has to file is worth knowing about before it lands. If it takes effect as written, some owners who have no obligation today will have one tomorrow, and the 90-day clock is not a forgiving instrument. We’ll update this post when the final rule issues.
What we do, and what we don’t
We’re a farmland brokerage. We’re not a law firm and we’re not your accountant.
What we do is notice. When we take on management of ground with an ownership structure that touches a foreign person, we flag the reporting question early and help you get to counsel who handles this work. We don’t file FSA-153 for you and we don’t tell you whether you owe one.
What we can tell you is what your ground is worth, what your rent should be, and what’s actually happening on the farm through the year. That’s the job.
Questions we get
Does AFIDA apply if I’m a dual citizen?
That depends on facts specific to you, including how the interest is titled. It’s a legal question with a real answer, and it’s worth getting once.
Do I file every year?
The filing is triggered by acquiring or transferring an interest, not by the calendar. Whether a later change in your holding creates a new obligation is a question for counsel.
What if I inherited the land years ago and never filed?
Talk to an attorney before you do anything, including before you file. There are considerations around late filings that a lawyer should walk you through first.
Where does Indiana law fit in?
Separately. Indiana restricts ownership tied to countries the federal government designates as foreign adversaries, and that list does not include any European country. We wrote that one up on its own.
If you own American ground from somewhere else
This is one piece of a bigger picture, and the bigger picture is that owning farmland you can’t drive past is a different job than owning farmland you can.
The filing is one piece of a larger job, and the rules on this page move often enough that a PDF would be stale before you read it. What helps more is a person.
Talk to Hinnerk Wolters. He works with our European owners, and the conversation can happen in German.
If you’d rather start with what management looks like from overseas, here’s how that works.
This isn’t legal advice. Hageman Realty is a real estate brokerage, not a law firm. Whether you have a filing obligation depends on facts specific to you. Talk to an attorney who works in agricultural land and cross-border ownership before you file anything, or decide not to. We’re glad to help you find one.
Law described here was verified against USDA and Federal Register sources on September 2, 2026.
