Open the AML tab at a brokerage that hasn't finished setting up its compliance program and you won't see a screening table - you'll see a locked screen instead. That's deliberate: nobody should be able to run a screening under a program that hasn't been configured yet.
What the Lock Covers
Once a brokerage's compliance setup wizard is incomplete, running a new screening, taking a bulk compliance action, working a PEP check or continuing the setup walkthrough are all refused, on the server as well as in the browser. The lock isn't a courtesy the interface adds on top - trying the same actions directly against the API returns the same refusal, so there's no route around it short of finishing setup.
What an Admin Sees
An admin who opens a locked AML tab sees a straightforward prompt to complete the compliance setup, with a button that takes them straight into the setup wizard. Admins are the only ones who can run that wizard, so they're the only ones offered a way through.
What Everyone Else Sees
A broker or team member who isn't an admin sees a different message with no call to action: compliance isn't active yet at their brokerage, and their principal broker needs to finish setup first. There's nothing for them to click, because there's nothing they're able to do about it.
Finishing Setup and Solo Workspaces
Once an admin completes the wizard, the lock lifts for the whole brokerage at once - there's no separate unlock per person or per team. A solo broker's workspace never hits this at all: the lock only applies to organizations that have been through brokerage setup, and a solo broker's own screening decisions don't run through a shared program with a wizard to complete.
Common Gotchas
- If a broker reports that compliance "won't load," check whether their org is a brokerage and whether an admin has finished setup before troubleshooting anything else - it's very often just an unfinished wizard, not a permissions problem.
- The lock covers screening, bulk actions, PEP checks and the setup walkthrough specifically. It isn't a blanket freeze on every compliance surface, so don't assume the rest of Compliance is unreachable too.
- Finishing setup is a brokerage-wide action. One team's admin can't unlock compliance for a sibling team in a different brokerage, and there's no per-team setup to repeat.
What to Do Next
- What Your Compliance Program Covers for what the setup wizard actually configures.
- Run a Screening on a Client for what opens up once the lock lifts.
- Navigate the Compliance Hub for the rest of what lives alongside the AML tab.