(a) Registration Requirements.  Each broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer prior to engaging in municipal securities activities must register with the Board, and each municipal advisor prior to engaging in municipal advisory activities must register with the Board. Registration will not become effective until the broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor is notified by the Board that its Form A-12 is complete and its initial registration fee and annual registration fee have been received and processed. Prior to registering with the Board:

(i)  Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer, and municipal advisor must register as such with, and be approved by, the Commission; and

(ii) Each broker, dealer, and municipal securities dealer must notify, as applicable, a registered securities association or appropriate regulatory agency of its intent to engage in municipal securities and municipal advisory activities and provide the Board, on Form A-12, with the name of the person who is the firm’s point of contact at the registered securities association or appropriate regulatory agency, the email address where the notification was sent, the date of such notification and the intended effective date the firm intends to begin engaging in municipal securities and/or municipal advisory activities.

(iii) If a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor succeeds to and continues the business of another broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor as determined and approved by the Commission, such broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor must provide such predecessor firm’s full legal name, and SEC and MSRB identification numbers to the MSRB on Form A-12.

(b) Initial Registration Fee. 

Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor shall pay to the Board an initial registration fee of $1,000, which shall be payable in the manner provided by the MSRB Registration Manual.  A firm registering as a broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer and as a municipal advisor need only pay one initial registration fee, so long as such firm remains continuously registered with the Board.

(c) Annual Registration Fee. 

As part of its initial registration and annually thereafter, based on the fiscal year of the Board, each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor shall pay to the Board an annual registration fee of $1,000.  The annual registration fee shall be payable in the manner provided by the MSRB Registration Manual.  Subsequent to initial registration, the annual registration fee is due by October 31 each year.  For any broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor that registers and pays an annual registration fee during the month of September, the annual registration fee for the following fiscal year beginning in October shall be waived.

(d) Late Fees.  Any broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor that fails to pay any fee assessed under this rule within 30 days of the invoice date shall pay a monthly late fee of $25 and a late fee on the overdue balance, computed according to the Prime Rate until paid.

(e) Registration Designation.  Any broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor that is registered with the Board may use the designation “MSRB registered” in its advertising, including on its website.

(f) Designation of the Appropriate Regulatory Agency. Each municipal securities dealer shall provide to the Board, on Form A-12, the name of the appropriate regulatory agency (the Comptroller of the Currency, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) responsible for examining for the firm’s compliance with MSRB rules.

(g) Designated Contacts.  Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor must designate, on Form A-12, a Primary Regulatory Contact, Master Account Administrator, Billing Contact, Compliance Contact, and Primary Data Quality Contact, and may designate one or more of the following contacts for purposes of communication between the firm and the Board: Optional Regulatory Contact, Optional Technical Contact, or Optional Data Quality Contact.  Each Primary and Optional Regulatory Contact shall, in the case of brokers, dealers, or municipal securities dealers, be an associated person with the firm who is a registered municipal securities principal (Series 53 or, in the case of a firm solely engaged in municipal fund securities business, Series 51 or 53) of the broker, dealer or municipal securities dealer and who shall be authorized to receive official communications from the Board.  Each Primary and Optional Regulatory Contact shall, in the case of municipal advisors, be an associated person with the firm who is a qualified municipal advisor principal (Series 54), who shall be authorized to receive official communications from the Board.  It shall be the responsibility of the Billing Contact to receive Board invoices and to respond to any Board inquiries regarding fees.

(h) Trade Reports.  Each broker, dealer and municipal securities dealer shall provide to the Board, prior to registering with the Board, the information required by Form A-12 to ensure that its trade reports can be processed correctly, or shall confirm that it qualifies for the exemption for trade reporting pursuant to Rule G-14(b)(v) and shall update such information promptly to ensure its continued accuracy.

(i) Compliance with Regulatory Requests.  Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor, as a function of its registration with the Board, shall comply with any request by the Board, registered securities association or appropriate regulatory agency for required information within 15 days or such longer period as may be agreed to by the Board, registered securities association or the appropriate regulatory agency.

(j) Form A-12 Reporting Requirements.  Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor shall provide to the Board, prior to registration with the Board, the information required by Form A-12 in a designated electronic format and in such manner as set forth in the MSRB Registration Manual.

(k) Form A-12 Updates and Withdrawal.  A broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor must update Form A-12 within 30 days, if any information therein becomes inaccurate or if it ceases to be engaged in municipal securities or municipal advisory activities, whether voluntarily or involuntarily through a regulatory or judicial bar, suspension or otherwise, and provide the Board with a description of, and reason for, its change in registration status, if other than a voluntary withdrawal. Changes to business activities or registration status on Form A-12 must be submitted by the Primary Regulatory Contact, Optional Regulatory Contact or Compliance Contact.

(l) Form A-12 Annual Affirmation.  Each broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer and municipal advisor shall review, update as necessary, and affirm the information in Form A-12 during the Annual Affirmation Period that commences on January 1 of each calendar year and ends on January 31 of each year.  The annual affirmation must be completed by the Primary Regulatory Contact, Optional Regulatory Contact or Compliance Contact designated by the firm.  Any broker, dealer, municipal securities dealer or municipal advisor that submits an initial Form A-12 or an amended Form A-12 during the Annual Affirmation Period (the month of January) need not affirm Form A-12 during that period for that calendar year.

(m) MSRB Registration Manual.  The MSRB Registration Manual, as updated or amended from time to time, is comprised of the specifications for the reporting of information required under this rule, the instructions for submitting Form A-12, and other information relevant to payments and reporting under this rule.  The MSRB Registration Manual is located at www.msrb.org.

.01 Calculation of the Prime Rate for Purposes of an Overdue Balance. In accordance with subsection (d) of this Rule A-12 regarding the imposition and calculation of late fees, the Prime Rate is the annual rate of the commercial prime rate of interest as last published in The Wall Street Journal prior to the date such charge is computed.

.02 Notification Requirement. If a broker, dealer, or municipal securities dealer initially provides the applicable notice of its intent to engage in municipal securities activities pursuant to subparagraph A- 12(a)(ii) and subsequently amends its registration status to include municipal advisory activities, notice of the dealer’s intent to engage in municipal advisory activities must be provided to, as applicable, the registered securities association or appropriate regulatory agency.