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Printer-Friendly Last Updated: 11/30/07 OATS Registration

All FINRA and NASDAQ member firms that meet the definition of Reporting Member under NASD Rule 6951(n) or NASDAQ Rule 6951(l) and receive and/or handle orders for NASDAQ-listed equity securities must register for the Order Audit Trail System^SM (OATS^SM). Non-member entities acting as a third party to transmit OATS order information on behalf of a member firm must also register for OATS.

On September 28, 2005 the SEC approved amendments to the OATS Rules (see Notice to Members 05-78). These newly approved amendments contain a provision that permits FINRA to grant exemptive relief from the OATS reporting requirements for manual orders in certain circumstances where, for example, reporting of such information would be unduly burdensome for the member or where temporary relief from the rules (in the form of additional time to achieve compliance) would permit the member to avoid unnecessary expense or hardship. To learn more about the requirements for exemptive relief and to apply for exemption, view our Exemptive Relief from the OATS Reporting Requirements Web page.

To register and gain initial access to OATS, the following form must be completed and submitted to FINRA:

1. Subscriber Initiation and Registration Form (SIRF) (PDF file 57 KB)
   
   Requires member firms and third parties to identify when they will begin reporting to the OATS production environment, the organizations reporting on their behalf, and the transport method that they will use for reporting, including File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet File Transfer (IFT), email or via the OATS Web Interface.
   
   Section 5 of the SIRF includes a detailed Registration Activity Checklist, which every firm registering for OATS must complete.  The Registration Activity Checklist includes the location to which each of the required forms must be submitted and references to useful OATS Documentation and Frequently Asked Questions.
   
   
2. FINRA Entitlement Agreement (FEA)
   
   The FEA entitles a firm to FINRA non-public, controlled access applications.  All firms that require access to OATS are required to submit an FEA.
   
   
3. FINRA Account Administrator Entitlement Form (AAEF)
   
   The AAEF instructs FINRA to create OATS Account Administrator and/or FTP/IFT accounts for a firm.
   

FINRA member firms that fail to complete and return the above forms or fail to perform all required registration activities will not be able to report OATS data to FINRA; failure to report order information by the specified OATS implementation date is in violation of NASD Rules 6955 and 6956 which may be considered to be in violation of NASD Rule 2110.

For additional information about Registration and OATS reporting, refer to NASD Rules 6950 through 6957 and Notice to Members 98-033, 98-073, and 99-04. Information about OATS is also available via the FINRA Web site at www.finra.org/oats.

A firm that is registered with OATS and changes its business practices in such a way that it is required to report to OATS in a different phase than previously noted must submit a revised Registration Form to ensure compliance with the OATS Rules.

Organizations that plan to transmit data to OATS via FTP must submit a completed order for an OATS circuit to access the OATS/SAVVIS network. For additional information about obtaining an OATS circuit contact the Sales Department at SAVVIS directly at 1-800-SAVVIS-1, Option 2. Organizations that plan to transmit data to OATS in Phase III via the private network should submit completed circuit orders immediately.

FINRA Business and Technology Support Services is the primary source of information about OATS. Technology support is available from 8 a.m. Monday to 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Business support is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.  If you have any questions regarding OATS or the OATS Registration process, please contact FINRA via telephone at (800) 321-6273, via fax at (888) 345-6275 or via email. Please provide your name, title, firm's name, firm's Broker-Dealer Number (if applicable), and a phone number when contacting Support Services. Note: The phone menu has been updated. If you have a case ID from an existing case, select 1 and enter your six-digit case ID; otherwise, to obtain OATS support, select 3. For best service, use your case ID when contacting FINRA about a problem that has previously been reported.