Foreign Deferral Policy

A foreign deferral defers a Continuing Education Regulatory Element requirement until the individual’s next Regulatory Element anniversary, and is granted only for those persons residing in locations outside a 350-mile radius of a Pearson VUE or Prometric center. FINRA established the foreign deferral policy for registered persons residing outside the United States and Canada in July 1996, when FINRA opened a testing/training center in London (see Notice to Members 96-48). FINRA has amended the foreign deferral policy on four previous occasions as testing centers became available. See Notice to Members 04-12 (February 2004); Notice to Members 03-40 (July 2003); Notice to Members 01-73 (November 2001); and Notice to Members 01-50 (August 2001).

Foreign deferral requests must be in writing, signed by a principal of the firm, and mailed or faxed to: FINRA, Continuing Education Department, 9509 Key West Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850; fax: (240-386-4675. Requests can also be sent via email to: continuinged@finra.org.

Requests must contain the individual’s name, CRD number, and the city and country of residence. Firms must proactively request a foreign deferral for each anniversary date that subjects a registered person to a Regulatory Element requirement. FINRA does not automatically renew foreign deferrals.