Order Audit Trail System (OATS)

OATS Retirement

On June 17, 2021, FINRA filed its proposed rule change for immediate effectiveness to retire OATS based on its determination that the accuracy and reliability of the CAT meets the standards previously approved by the Commission. As a result of this filing, the OATS Rules will be deleted from the FINRA rulebook effective September 1, 2021.

August 31, 2021 will be the last “OATS Business Day,” as defined under Rule 7450(b)(3), for which OATS will accept order events and perform routine processing, including incorporation of corrections and repairs of rejections.  Firms must continue to report to OATS all order events that occur on or prior to August 31, 2021. Reports submitted to OATS for order events that occur after August 31, 2021 will be rejected.

OATS will continue to accept reports for order events that occur on or prior to August 31, 2021, (including, but not limited to, late and corrected reports for such order events) through September 16, 2021. Firms must continue to ensure their OATS reporting is accurate and complete for all order events occurring on or prior to August 31, 2021. To assist firms in meeting their reporting obligations, existing OATS guidance will remain posted and available on FINRA’s website for a period of time following OATS retirement.

If you have any questions, please contact the OATS Help Desk at (800) 321-6273 or via email.

FINRA has established the Order Audit Trail System (OATS), as an integrated audit trail of order, quote, and trade information for all NMS stocks and OTC equity securities. FINRA uses this audit trail system to recreate events in the life cycle of orders and more completely monitor the trading practices of member firms. Under FINRA Rules 7410 - 7470, FINRA member firms are required to develop a means for electronically capturing and reporting to OATS specific data elements related to the handling or execution of orders, including recording all times of these events in hours, minutes, and seconds, and to synchronize their business clocks. These Rules were approved by the SEC on March 6, 1998.

FINRA’s OATS Helpdesk is the primary source of information about OATS. Technology support is available from 8 a.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Saturday. Business support is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Contact FINRA’s OATS Helpdesk

  • by email
  • by phone at (800) 321-6273
  • by fax at (888) 345-6275.

Please provide your name, title, firm's name, firm's Broker-Dealer Number (if applicable), and a phone number when contacting FINRA’s OATS Helpdesk by phone, fax or email.

  • Regulatory Notice 21-21
    FINRA Eliminates the Order Audit Trail System (OATS) Rules
  • Regulatory Notice 16-28
    SEC Approval of FINRA Rule 4554 (Alternative Trading Systems—Recording and Reporting Requirements of Order and Execution Information for NMS Stocks)
  • Regulatory Notice 16-23
    SEC Approves Rule Change to Reduce the Clock Synchronization Tolerance for Computer Clocks Used To Record Events in NMS Securities and OTC Equity Securities
  • Regulatory Notice 16-20
    SEC Approves OATS Amendments to Require Identification of Non-FINRA Member Broker-Dealers
  • Regulatory Notice 14-51
    Rules Requiring the Identification of Non-Member Broker-Dealers in Order Audit Trail System (OATS) Reports and the Reporting of Additional Order Information by Alternative Trading Systems (ATS)
  • Regulatory Notice 14-47
    FINRA Requests Comment on a Proposal to Tighten Business Clock Synchronization Requirements
  • Regulatory Notice 14-21
    SEC Approves Amendments to Equity Trade Reporting and OATS Rules
  • Regulatory Notice 11-03
    FINRA Expands the Order Audit Trail System to All NMS Stocks
  • Regulatory Notice 07-39
    SEC Approves Amendments Regarding OATS Routing Method Code for Intermarket Sweep Orders Effective Date: February 4, 2008
  • Notice to Members 06-17
    NASD Extends Compliance Date for Recent Amendments to NASD's Order Audit Trail System Rules
  • Notice to Members 06-15
    SEC Approves Expansion of NASD's Exemptive Authority under the OATS Rules
  • Notice to Members 05-78
    SEC Approves Amendments to the OATS Rules
  • Notice to Members 05-33
    Short Sales in Pilot Securities and Order-Marking Requirements under SEC Regulation SHO
  • Notice to Members 04-85
    SEC Approves Amendments to Rule 6954(c) Requiring ECNs to Capture and Report Routed Order Identifier Information to OATS
  • Notice to Members 04-80
    NASD Seeks Comment on Proposed Changes to the OATS Rules (Comment Period Expired January 20, 2005)
  • Notice to Members 04-69
    Mandatory Use of Combined New Order/Route and Combined New Order/Execution Reports Delayed until April 4, 2005
  • Notice to Members 04-48
    SEC Approves Amendments to Rule 6954 Requiring Members to Record and Report Execution Price and Firm Capacity in OATS Execution Reports
  • Notice to Members 04-46
    Mandatory Changes to OATS New Order, Combined New Order/Route, and Combined New Order/Execution Reports
  • Notice to Members 02-31
    NASD Seeks Comment on Proposed Changes to the OATS Rules
  • Notice to Members 00-26
    NASD Regulation Reiterates Requirement That Members Correctly Report Order Audit Trail Information
  • Notice to Members 99-27
    Order Audit Trail System Phase 2 Firms Required To Register
  • Notice to Members 99-04
    Revised OATS Reporting Technical Specifications Released
  • Notice to Members 98-82
    SEC Approves Amendments To Automated Confirmation Transaction Service And Transaction Reporting Rules
  • Notice to Members 98-73
    Firms Required To Register For Order Audit Trail System
  • Notice to Members 98-33
    SEC Approves New Order Audit Trail System (OATS)