Guidelines for Broker Comments on BrokerCheck

Individuals who currently are not registered with FINRA, but who have been FINRA-registered within the last two years, may submit a Broker Comment Request Form to provide an update or context to information that is disclosed through BrokerCheck. Individuals who currently are registered with FINRA, are associated with a member firm, and wish to provide an update or context to information that is disclosed through BrokerCheck are required to file an amended Form U4. BrokerCheck provides to the public certain registration, employment and disclosure information as reported on the Forms U4, U5 and U6 for individuals who are subject to the BrokerCheck program (i.e., currently FINRA-registered or FINRA-registered within the last two years).

Individuals may submit a Broker Comment to FINRA by submitting the circled/highlighted section(s) of the BrokerCheck Report to be updated along with a completed, signed and notarized Broker Comment Request Form. FINRA will review the request and add the comment to the individual’s BrokerCheck report if FINRA determines the request meets the following criteria:

• The request is appropriate. It does not contain confidential customer information, offensive or potentially defamatory language or information that raises significant identity theft, personal safety or privacy concerns.
  
  
• The Broker Comment must relate to the information disclosed through BrokerCheck and pertain to only the following: Employer Name, Employer Location, and Employment Dates under Employment History; Affiliations; and, Disclosure of Customer Disputes, Disciplinary, and Regulatory Events. For example, a Broker Comment may be submitted to update an employment end date that was never amended via the Form U4. It may also be used to provide the individual’s update or context to a disclosure event that was solely reported on his/her Form U5 subsequent to the individual’s last registration termination.
  
  
• If the individual submitting the Broker Comment becomes registered again, he or she must provide the information contained in the Broker Comment via Form U4.

FINRA reserves the right to reject comments or redact information, on a case-by-case basis, that is deemed inappropriate. Broker Comments that meet FINRA’s criteria generally will be posted to BrokerCheck within three business days of receipt.

The Broker Comment will be viewable through BrokerCheck as long as the report is available to the public. The individual who submitted the comment will be able to replace or delete a previously submitted comment via the Broker Comment Request Form. If the individual becomes registered, the comment will no longer display through BrokerCheck. The comment/update must be provided via the registered individual’s Form U4.

To submit the request, mail the completed, signed and notarized Broker Comment Request Form and the circled/highlighted pages of your BrokerCheck report to:

Registration and Disclosure—Registration Management
FINRA
9509 Key West Avenue
Rockville, MD 20850-3329

Questions may be directed to the Gateway Call Center at (301) 590-6500. Note: FINRA will not accept requests sent via facsimile.