On an annual basis, registered investment advisers (RIAs) are required to renew the registrations for their firms and all associated investment adviser representatives (IARs) by paying the renewal fees through their FINRA Gateway IARD/CRD account. FINRA assists with the invoicing and collection of renewal fees and disburses the fees to the various jurisdictions for both SEC- and state-registered RIAs.
Information regarding the renewal program is posted at https://www.iard.com/renewal-program.
The renewal program is a two-stage process:
First, Preliminary Statements are issued on November 6, 2023. Fees for the Preliminary Statement are based on registrations in effect as of November 4, and are due on or before December 11, 2023.
Second, Final Statements are issued on January 1, 2024. The Final Statements will reflect fees due for any changes to registration made between November 4 (when Preliminary Statements are created) and December 31, 2023. If you have not added or terminated any firm or IAR registrations during this time period, your Final Statement should reflect no balance due. If your Final Statement does reflect a balance due, this balance is due and payable by January 26, 2024.
Following are step-by-step instructions for retrieving your statements from your IARD/CRD account, and making necessary payments for your renewal fees.
PHASE 1: PRELIMINARY STATEMENT
Promptly after the November 6, navigate to https://ews.finra.org/auth/logon to log in to your IARD/CRD account.
From the Dashboard Quick Links, select the E-Bill module.
On the E-Bill Overview tab, you should see two sections: Flex-Funding Account and Renewal Account. (Note: The Renewal section only appears during the annual renewal period from November through January. It does not appear on the E-Bill page during the rest of the year.)
On the Flex-Funding Account, note the current estimated balance.
On the Renewal Account, note the renewal fees on the left.
Select the blue “View Statement” button to view and download your Preliminary Statement. I recommend reviewing this statement to be sure that the listed registrations for the firm and IARs appear to be accurate.
Note that fees are due on or before December 11. When you are ready to pay the fees, you have a few options:
If you already have sufficient funds in the Flex-Funding Account to cover the renewal fees, under the Renewal Account section you can fill in the Payment Amount box (equal to the renewal fees due), then click the “Payment Options” box. Select the option to transfer funds from the Flex-Funding Account. The funds will be transferred from the Flex-Funding Account to the Renewal Account, and your renewal fees will be marked as paid.
If the funds in your Flex-Funding Account will partially cover the fees, you can select the blue “Add Funds” button at the top of the Flex-Funding Account section to deposit additional funds in the Flex-Funding Account. Deposits process overnight and are available the next business day. Once there are sufficient funds in the Flex-Funding Account, you can follow the process outlined in Step 4.a. above to pay the renewal fees from the Flex-Funding Account.
You can pay the renewal fees directly from the Renewal Account without transferring funds from the Flex-Funding Account. Under the Renewal Account section you can fill in the Payment Amount box (equal to the renewal fees due), then click the “Payment Options” box. Select the option to add funds from an external source (bank account or credit card), then just follow the instructions to add the necessary funds to pay the renewal fees. Transactions may process overnight.
Regardless of which option you choose in Step 4 above, I recommend logging back into the account again in a day or two to verify that the Renewal Account reflects that no fees are owed. (Sometimes there are glitches, so it’s a good idea to double check this.) If your fees are not paid in full by the December 11 deadline, a late fee will be assessed so it is important to verify this.
PHASE 2: FINAL STATEMENT
Promptly after January 2, navigate to https://ews.finra.org/auth/logon to log in to your IARD/CRD account.
From the Dashboard, navigate again to the E-Bill module.
Check the Renewal Account to see if any additional fees are due.
Select the blue “View Statement” button to view and download your Final Statement. The Final Statement will reflect fees due for any changes to registrations made between November 4 (when Preliminary Statements are created) and December 31, 2023. If you have not added or terminated any firm or IAR registrations during this time period, your Final Statement should reflect no balance due. If your Final Statement does reflect a balance due, verify that charges reflected on the Final Statement are accurate.
If a balance is due on your Final Statement, note that this balance is due and payable by January 26, 2024. You can follow steps outlined in Step 4 under Phase 1 above to pay the remaining fees.
I again recommend logging back into the account in a day or two to verify that the Renewal Account reflects that the payment has been applied and no fees are owed.
