Several modes of eukaryotic of DNA double strand break repair (DSBR) depend on synapsis of complementary DNA. The Rad51 ATPase, the S. cerevisiae homolog of E. coli RecA, plays a key role in this process by catalyzing homology searching and strand exchange between an invading DNA strand and a repair template (e.g. sister chromatid or homologous chromosome). Synthesis dependent strand annealing (SDSA), a mode of DSBR, requires Rad51. Another repair enzyme, the Rad1-Rad10 endonuclease, acts in the final stages of SDSA, hydrolyzing 3￠ overhanging single-stranded DNA. Here we show in vivo by fluo-rescence microscopy that the ATP binding function of yeast Rad51 is required to recruit Rad10 SDSA sites indicating that Rad51 pre-synaptic filament formation must occur prior to the recruitment of Rad1-Rad10. Our data also show that Rad51 ATPase activity, an important step in Rad51 filament disassembly, is not absolutely required in order to recruit Rad1- Rad10 to DSB sites.