Who Must Register
Brokers, dealers, municipal securities dealers (collectively, municipal securities dealers) and municipal advisors must register with the MSRB before engaging in municipal securities and advisory activities. The terms broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor are defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in sections 3(a)(4), 3(a)(5), 3(a)(30) and section 15B(e)(4), respectively.
To register with the MSRB, all municipal securities dealers and municipal advisors must have an SEC registration number. Nonbank, municipal securities dealers also must have a FINRA registration number.
How to Register
Organizations registering with the MSRB for the first time can begin the MSRB registration process by creating an account. There are four organization types for purposes of MSRB registration: broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor. An organization may select multiple organization types during the registration process.
Organizations with an existing MSRB account can amend their registration to include additional organization types by logging into the organization’s current MSRB account, updating the organization type(s) and providing related information. Financial advisors who have previously registered with the MSRB as a municipal securities dealer must register separately with the MSRB as a municipal advisor by updating their existing MSRB account.
MSRB Registration Rules
MSRB Rule A-12 requires municipal securities dealers and municipal advisors to provide identifying information to the MSRB. MSRB Rules A-12 and A-14 requires them to pay an initial fee of $100 and an annual fee of $500. The annual fee is due for each MSRB fiscal year in which the municipal securities dealer or advisor is registered with the MSRB and is not pro-rated. The MSRB fiscal year runs from October 1–September 30.
View MSRB bill payment options.
MSRB Rule G-40 requires registered municipal securities dealers and municipal advisors to appoint a primary contact to serve as the official contact person for purposes of electronic mail communications and to provide periodic updates to the MSRB. In the case of municipal securities dealers, the primary contact must be either a Series 53-registered municipal securities principal or a Series 51-registered municipal fund securities limited principal. Currently there are no requirements for municipal advisor primary contacts.
Additional Information
For further assistance regarding the registration process, please contact MSRB Support at (703) 797-6668.