Financial · guide
How to Read a FINRA Regulatory Notice: Numbering, Notice Types and Effective Dates
Updated
The numbering scheme
FINRA Regulatory Notices are numbered YY-NN: the two-digit year, a hyphen, and a sequence number that restarts each January. Regulatory Notice 26-16, for example, was the sixteenth Regulatory Notice of 2026 and was published on August 26, 2026 (FINRA Notices). The number tells you the order of publication, not the topic and not the rule number.
Other notice families use a date instead of a sequence number. Information Notices and Trade Reporting Notices are identified by publication date, so you will see "Information Notice 8/3/26" or "Trade Reporting Notice 1/14/26" on the same index page. Special Notices and Election Notices are also date-labelled. When you cite a notice, use its family name plus its number or date, because "26-16" alone is ambiguous across families and across years.
The notice families
| Family | What it is for | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| Regulatory Notice | Rule proposals, requests for comment, SEC-approved rule changes and their effective dates, interpretive guidance and reminders | YY-NN |
| Information Notice | Operational and administrative announcements, such as continuing education platform changes | Date |
| Election Notice | Board and committee elections, contested elections, ballot distribution | Date |
| Trade Reporting Notice | Guidance on applying existing trade reporting rules and facility requirements | Date |
| Special Notice | Engagement initiatives, committee vacancies, governance and other one-off announcements | Date |
| Notice to Members (NTM) | The pre-2008 NASD series; same YY-NN style | YY-NN |
Regulatory Notices carry the rulemaking weight. Information Notices tend to be logistical: the Information Notice of November 4, 2015, for example, announced changes to the continuing education platform (Information Notice 11/4/15). Trade Reporting Notices address how existing rules apply to FINRA's reporting facilities. Election Notices and Special Notices are governance and engagement documents; they rarely change an obligation, but they are worth skimming for committee and board deadlines.
NTMs and the 2008 changeover
Before FINRA was formed, NASD published Notices to Members using the same YY-NN pattern (NTM 05-26, NTM 07-23 and so on). FINRA's Regulatory Notice series began with Regulatory Notice 08-01, published January 2, 2008, and current notices still cite earlier NTMs by their old numbers in the "Referenced Rules & Notices" list (Regulatory Notice 08-01). Older NTMs remain searchable on the same notices page under the Notice to Members filter. An interpretation published in an NTM stays relevant unless a later notice or rule supersedes it, so a citation to a 2005 NTM in a 2026 notice is normal.
How effective dates and comment deadlines are shown
Each notice's summary line on the index page states the operative date in plain words, for example "Effective Date: August 2, 2027," "Comment Period Expires: September 25, 2026," or, for phased rollouts, "Voluntary Compliance Period: Begins August 31, 2026" (FINRA Notices). Inside the notice, the executive summary repeats the date and the "Referenced Rules & Notices" box lists what the notice touches. Read the label carefully: an effective date means the rule text is in force; a compliance or voluntary-compliance date means the obligation is coming; a comment-period date means nothing has changed yet.
Request-for-comment notices
FINRA cannot simply decree a new rule. Its process usually involves discussion with the FINRA Board, input from advisory committees and public comment through a Regulatory Notice, a rule filing with the SEC, or both (About Requests for Comment). Each request-for-comment notice states when its comment period expires; comments can be submitted through the online form on the notice page, by email to pubcom@finra.org, or by mail, and all comments received are posted publicly on FINRA's site (Requests for Comments). A request-for-comment notice signals direction. It is not a rule, and the final text often differs.
The SEC rule filing under Section 19(b)
Because FINRA is a self-regulatory organization, any proposed rule change must be filed with the SEC under Section 19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. The SEC publishes the proposal for public comment and, for filings that require approval, must act within 45 days of publication, extendable by up to an additional 45 days, by approving, disapproving or instituting proceedings (15 U.S.C. 78s(b)). Some filings, such as those designated as stated policies, practices or interpretations of an existing rule, take effect on filing under Section 19(b)(3)(A), but the SEC may summarily suspend them within 60 days of filing.
Each filing gets an SR-FINRA-YYYY-NNN number (SR-FINRA-2026-001, for example, proposed new Rule 3290 on outside activities). FINRA lists filings and their status on its rule filings page, and the SEC posts the same filings, comments and orders on sec.gov (FINRA Rule Filings). The sequence for a typical rule change is: a request-for-comment Regulatory Notice, an SR-FINRA filing, an SEC approval order, and then a second Regulatory Notice announcing the approval and the effective date. If you only track one of those four, track the last one.
Where to subscribe
FINRA's email subscription service delivers the Weekly Update, which lists the week's rule proposals and notices of rule approvals with effective dates, along with other regulatory mailings; FINRA also maintains RSS feeds through its media center (Regulatory News Feed and Email Subscription Services). The notices index itself can be filtered by family, year and topic, which is the fastest way to build a reading list for a single rule.
RegPing's financial-regulation bot delivers new FINRA notices into Discord as they are published.
Where to verify
- FINRA Notices index
- FINRA Regulatory Notice 08-01
- About Requests for Comment
- FINRA Rule Filings
- 15 U.S.C. 78s, Exchange Act Section 19
- FINRA email subscription and news feed services
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Verify against the primary source and consult counsel before acting.
Questions people ask
What do the numbers in a FINRA Regulatory Notice mean?
The format is YY-NN: the two-digit year followed by a sequence number that restarts each year. Regulatory Notice 26-16 is the sixteenth Regulatory Notice published in 2026. Information, Trade Reporting, Special and Election Notices are identified by date instead.
What is the difference between a Regulatory Notice and an NTM?
Notices to Members (NTMs) were NASD's pre-2008 series and used the same YY-NN numbering. FINRA's Regulatory Notice series began with Regulatory Notice 08-01 on January 2, 2008, and current notices still cite older NTMs by their original numbers.
Does a FINRA request-for-comment notice change any rule?
No. It solicits public input, with a stated comment deadline. Any actual rule change must be filed with the SEC under Exchange Act Section 19(b) as an SR-FINRA filing, and FINRA then publishes a separate Regulatory Notice with the effective date.